soft skills

The Importance of the First Five Minutes of Any Risk and Strategy Conversation

If there’s one thing I’ve learned writing articles for my risk and strategy blog is that considerable thought has to be put into the post’s title and opening lines. With a seemingly endless amount of content on the Internet, visitors will quickly whisk away if the title and intro to an article is not engaging…

Avoid the Gotcha Reputation with Executives by Using One Simple Step

In case you don’t know or can’t tell, I love speaking with and learning from others to understand their challenges as it can reveal what others are likely facing. And a recent conversation with a newly appointed head of audit revealed a challenge that I felt important to pass along. You’ve heard me say over…

Asserting the Answer – A Common Pitfall of Effective Problem Solving

You know what they say about assumptions, right? One particular quote from one of my favorite action movies, the Steven Seagal classic Under Siege 2: Dark Territory comes to mind, but it’s not appropriate to repeat here. Instead, we’ll turn to the brilliant Albert Einstein who is quoted as once saying… Assumptions are made and…

Don’t Be That Person: Attitudes and Phrases to Avoid in Delicate Conversations

Considering the resources and commentary out there, it’s easy to get the impression that ERM success is built on how well your identification, assessment, analysis, and reporting processes mesh with your company’s needs and culture. As long as these processes function well, your company will then reap the benefits of risk-informed decision-making and enjoy eternal…

29 Biases and Traps that Prevent Good Decision-Making

It seems like bias is everywhere in our world… Some bias is healthy and normal. We may have a bias for or against a certain sports team or those of us who are parents will naturally be biased toward our children. But when it comes to decision-making in our organizations, bias can lead to putting…

What a Calm Act of Heroism Can Teach Us about Risk Management

I remember the day well… I was in my office on a cold and blustery January day when news came of a plane crash in New York City, but unlike other crashes in times past, there were few injuries and no fatalities. Later dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson,” the events of that day were…

3 Simple Steps to Be Invited to Strategic Planning Sessions

One issue that executives, Board members, and other company leaders continue to raise in surveys and elsewhere is that ERM doesn’t provide strategic advantage or valuable insights to decision-making. Reports received by business unit and company leaders typically regurgitate a list of risks and rehash what they already know. As we discuss in this post…

Are Internal Risk Professionals Treated Differently Than External Consultants?

The short answer is an emphatic yes!!! But I know you have come to expect more from me, so let me expand on this a little… Going back to my days as an internal ERM practitioner in one of Florida’s largest property insurance companies, I can attest personally that internal risk professionals are treated differently…

Improve ERM Engagement with This One Subtle Shift

In a perfect world, business units and executives would be flocking to the ERM professional to find solutions to vexing problems facing the organization. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. In a 2018 survey, lack of engagement and executive buy-in was reported as the #1 challenge to implementing ERM effectively. To put it plainly – without engagement…

5 Key Personas of an Effective ERM Professional

When my blog was still pretty new, I published in early 2017 an article on the qualities of an effective ERM professional. Three years may not seem like a long time, but it is when considering how fast things are changing. Although the original article contains information that is still relevant today, I felt it…

soft skills

Get our latest blogs directly in your inbox!

Popular Post this Month