How To Manage Risk, According To General Stanley McChrystal And Anna Butrico

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‘The greatest risk to us as individuals, and to our organizations, is us.’

‘We can’t control the emergence of threats– but we can make our organizations less vulnerable.’

‘Communication allows the Risk Immune System to work. Get this right or we fail.’

‘When our narrative is misaligned to our purpose, values, or strategy, we invite risk into our organization.’

‘Structure enables or inhibits the effective functioning of any organization’s Risk Immune System.’

‘Understanding structure’s impact on our processes and culture, positive or negative, is critical.’

‘As technology continue to evolve, so must we. This means cultivating an active awareness of the ways in which technology shapes our processes and culture.’

‘Leaders don’t necessarily have to know all the answers, but they should be focused on asking the right questions, gathering a diversity of thought in the room to make the best decisions for their team.’

‘Diversity isn’t a nice-to-do, it’s a need-to-do. Different perspectives and skills increase our effectiveness. Achieving diversity requires deliberate action.’

‘Ultimately, what we do (or don’t do) determines the outcome.’

‘A correct response to a threat can be entirely ineffective if poorly timed. Acting too early can be as wrong as acting too late.’

‘Every threat is different- so too must be our responses. Constantly changing threats demand continuous adaptation.’

‘The Risk Immune System is an organic process but it does not function automatically. Leadership is essential to orchestrate the interactions and synergy of the Risk Control Factors.’

‘Readiness for risk is less a function of accurately predicting specific threats and more about building resiliency into the organization through a healthy Risk Immune System.’

‘Effectively strengthening the Risk Immune System first requires understanding where it is strong and where it is weak.’

Source

General Stanley McChrystal and Anna Butrico (2021). Risk: A User’s Guide

How To Master Risk And Create A Sense Of Possibility

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If you know what you want, then go ahead and do something about it. Don’t just talk about your future, do something about your future.

According to Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, ‘If you’ve determined your goal, … use risk-taking to help you discover and validate your goals and to open up new and unforeseen pathways toward achieving them.’

‘Real growth isn’t linear, but cyclical.’

‘Taking small risks early and often helps you to build risk-taking muscles, with compounding benefits.’

‘Rather than focusing solely on the potential for loss, we can reframe risk as decisions we make that afford us considerable upside potential.’

‘You don’t need perfect goals or clarity to start taking risks.’

‘A great plan is simple, efficient, and capable of evolving as we go. Whiteboard your way to the future.’

‘Embracing our inner risk manager helps us face our fears instead of avoiding them.’

‘Smarter risk-taking requires that we look inward as well, aligning our choices not just with our ambitions but also with who we are at our core.’

‘To achieve a larger success later, focus on delivering shorter-term outcomes and impact.’

‘By delivering impact through each larger chapter of ambition, iterating and taking smaller risks continually to create results faster, we’ll build successful overall careers.’

‘When we choose possibility consistently, we don’t need others to make us powerful. We generate power for ourselves.’

Source

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (2021). Choose Possibility: Take Risks and Thrive (Even When You Fail)