Risk Watch: Thought Leadership in Risk—Autumn 2017

In this 20th issue of Risk Watch, we have introduced a new feature: The Book Review. Felix Kloman is a member emeritus of Signal49 Research’s Strategic Risk Council and a highly respected member of the risk community. He shares his views on the central thesis of a recent book, Rethinking Reputational Risk,written by consultant, Anthony Fitzsimmons, and academic, Derek Atkins. The book ascertains that organizations need to rethink reputational risk as it is their most prized asset.

Diana Del Bel Belluz, President and Founder of Risk Wise Inc., has penned an article that will appeal to those with an interest in neuroeconomics. The Neuroscience of Enterprise Risk Management makes the case that understanding and applying knowledge from the world of neuroscience is essential for an effective and sustainable risk management program. With brains that are still stuck in our early evolutionary past, and which also happen to be lazy and distracted, we can often misinterpret, underestimate, or overestimate risks.

In a thought-provoking article, Charles Berndt and Chandra Krishnamurthy take us on a tour of what has been coined “The Fourth Industrial Revolution.” In Emerging Technologies: How Can ERM Play a Part, the authors share their thoughts on some of the dangers presented by the profound transformation our world is undergoing. It’s not a question of putting the genie back into the bottle—but ERM, the authors argue, may have some modest role to play by helping us ask the right questions.

Lise Simpson, Lisa Potter, and Judie Leach Bennett of Canadian Blood Services explain the main features of a Risk-Based Decision-Making Framework for Blood Safety (RBDM Framework), used by their organization. The framework, developed with the support of the Alliance of Blood Operators (ABO), evolved out of the need to ensure the highest levels of blood safety while acknowledging that the complete elimination of risk is not possible. Although aspects of the framework are unique to the needs of blood safety, its flexibility can still provide a model for other types of organizations.