One of the best and most impactful ways to learn something is by example in my experience. Previous articles like these two on the Texas winter blackout and school bus vendor fiasco provided great examples of the consequences of being reactive to risks and issues. These two situations, and the one I’m about to describe,… The post How Being Proactive Could Have Saved One Company Millions appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

Whether driving on the open highway or around town, it’s a good practice to glance in your rearview mirror every minute or two to see what’s following so you can make adjustments if needed. But could you imagine trying to do the opposite – driving forward but only glancing out the front windshield occasionally? How… The post Shifting Risk from the Rear-View Mirror to the Front Windshield appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

When first learning about ERM some years ago, it seemed that following best practices set forth in standards like ISO 31000 or COSO were sufficient. However, as my career has progressed, so too has the scope of ERM. No longer is it just about avoiding loss and reassuring regulators, but as Norman Marks clearly states… The post Using the Circle of Influence Technique to Drive Risk Ownership appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

We’ve discussed it before in a previous article exploring risk visualizations at a high-level, but it bears repeating…most of us, close to 2/3 in fact, learn best through visual cues like pictures, charts, graphs, or diagrams of some sort. The heat map has traditionally filled this role for communicating risk information, but even those who… The post How to Better Communicate with Executives? Be Creative About Risk Visualizations appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

Part of what makes this blog unique is that we don’t just stick with technical topics like risk identification, risk response, or strategic planning. In my years of experience, I’ve come to appreciate how an ERM professional has to wear many different hats, and it’s inevitable that at least one of these won’t be someone’s… The post 6 Personality Traits You Will Encounter and How to Respond appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

Getting the lay of the land is something we instinctively do with anything new. If we are moving to a new city, we’ll certainly take the time to learn where things are, the best way to get around, which areas to avoid, and so on. Much of this will even be done beforehand! Doing all… The post The First 100 Days – Evaluating ERM When You’re New to the Company or Role appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

For many, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is like eating vegetables or doing homework – it’s important, and even required in some cases, but it’s something as kids we just did NOT want to do. Growing into adulthood doesn’t change this fundamental concept. We don’t want to go to the dentist or renew our car registration.… The post Transforming Enterprise Risk Management from “Have To” to “Want To” appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

Outside of both my personal and business LinkedIn pages, I am not too keen on social media. That’s changed somewhat in the last couple of years with Instagram. Besides it being a great tool for keeping in touch with gym friends and seeing what my son’s class is working on at school, my family and… The post Making Outdated ERM Processes More Adaptable appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

I’m going to do something a little different today… Instead of going in-depth on one specific topic, the following article takes a more all-encompassing or birds-eye view of ERM. Knowing companies tend to have a lot of ERM-related activities starting now, it seems like a good time to step back and think about how exactly… The post How ERM is Like Apple Pie appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more

To move forward, sometimes we must take a step back and refresh or relearn the basics of why something is done or is important. Although leadership should always be thinking about the future, many organizations will soon begin  (or have already begun) their formal strategic planning for the next 1, 3, or even 5 years,… The post 6 Reasons Why Every Organization Needs a Strategic Plan appeared first on Strategic Decision Solutions ..read more