KEYNOTE: How on earth did we get in such a mess?!

How did we get where we are now in risk management, where confusion prevails; so that our customers don’t know how we can really help them and, even amongst ourselves, we can’t agree what the words ‘risk’ and ‘risk management’ actually mean?

After working in risk management for nearly 50 years and being involved in the development and implementation of many foundational approaches, I feel I can explain how we ended up making what is, fundamentally, a simple concept, into something complex and difficult to understand?

The workshop will examine why most (normal) people think risk management is illogical and defies common sense and why, in many organisations, it is only seen as a regulatory overhead, that destroys rather than creates value?

I will explain how we ended up with two, quite divergent streams of thinking: one described as ‘risk focussed’, that is primarily concerned with reporting of risks; and the other described as ‘decision focussed’, that is primarily aimed at helping people and organisations make better decisions. And why they can never converge!

Along the way we will confront the following uncomfortable truths:

• The vicious cycle that drives standards writing and regulation that has driven more and yet more complexity;
• Why the concept of ‘integration’, the holy grail of risk management, is a fool’s paradise;
• What good governance really needs (hint – not risk registers, risk culture surveys and risk appetite statements);
• How one type of thinking on risk management has now gone ‘full circle’;
• Why, maybe, it’s time to drop the ‘r’ word (gasp!);
• The only way ahead that makes sense – for everyone.

Warning: if your business is about selling this year’s risk management confection to hapless punters, or if you believe risk management is some form of magic contraceptive (buy me and stop one), then you might be offended by what you hear.

On the other hand, if you are frustrated with your profession and your inability to convince others that what you do can actually create value, then this workshop is probably for you.