managing ERM expectations

ERM May Be Simple to Understand but It’s Not Easy

One name you see me refer to often is Hans Læssøe, author of the book Prepare to Dare, and former strategic risk manager for The LEGO Group. Hans is currently a consultant based in Denmark. Not only do I admire LEGO for its stellar assortment of models that both my son and I enjoy building,…
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Ensuring Consulting Engagements Deliver Exceptional Value

Today I’m going to touch on the sensitive topic of consultants… When you have a problem or situation outside your organization’s internal capabilities, a consultant can be brought in to help address it. In the context of ERM, this can include everything from starting a new program, re-starting a failed program, presenting a summary of…
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ERM Implementation: What Risk Professionals Consider the #1 Challenge To Be

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadI recently asked of fellow risk professionals, “What is your single biggest challenge when it comes to ERM implementation?” What do you think the answers were? Maybe figuring out how to assess risks? Maybe integrating with strategy? Or aggregation of risks? Nope. Tone at the top! Yes, the executives…
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Explaining the Why of Enterprise Risk Management

During the North Carolina State University’s ERM Roundtable Summit this fall, one of the topics of conversation focused on how to involve more people from across the organization in ERM. During this discussion, we were all asked, “how many of you have talked extensively about ‘what ERM is’ and explained ‘we are conducting surveys, interviews,…
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Traditional vs. ERM – Going Beyond Managing Risks One at a Time

When I first began my blog, the first big topic I explored was the difference between traditional and enterprise risk management. In the traditional vs. ERM article (one of the most popular articles of all time), I outlined eight ways that separate each of these concepts. Today, I want to dive a bit deeper on…
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risk literacy

Four Ways to Strengthen Risk Literacy in Your Organization

Math is not my strong suit. I feel more at ease at the keyboard, weaving words together. That’s not to say I’m terrible at math. In fact, I passed a rigorous calculus course in high school, and I actually enjoyed business statistics. But those days are in the distant past, and I rarely have occasion…
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Relationships: A Common but Fatal Mistake of Risk Management

The majority of articles on my blog focus on the process side of enterprise risk management. I’ve discussed at great length subjects like setting up an ERM program, risk identification, risk assessment, and more. However, the process and technical skills is only part of what goes into a successful, value-enhancing ERM program. If you’re like…
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ERM journey

How Digital Transformations Mirror the ERM Journey for Many Organizations

I recently read an interesting Harvard Business Review article titled “Why So Many High-Profile Digital Transformations Fail” which examines the digital transformations attempted by GE, Nike, Sears, Lego, Walmart, Staples, and Proctor & Gamble. These are some big brands that have run into issues when attempting to go full-force into a digital space. This part…
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