#Management

I help people and organizations achieve their objectives by managing risk.

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4 min

Peter Drucker was wrong

"What gets measured gets managed." - Peter Drucker [1] Like many cliches, "what gets measured gets managed" is correct enough to be believable but wrong enough to be misleading. We can measure the velocity of planets, but that doesn't mean we can manage or influence their speed in any way. We all know that What gets measured is NOT what gets managed. If we measure our weight, will that change it? Highly unlikely. But if we measure the things we can influence, such as how ofte

3 min

How to measure ALARP

ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) is a fundamental concept in risk management, as it should be in life in general. It expresses the idea that we should reduce adverse risks as much as possible without excessive cost. The principle is that the benefits should outweigh the costs. ALARP is not a specific cost-benefit ratio; it is a region where cost and benefit play together in harmony. FIgure 1: ALARP - the point where risk and resources achieve optimal balance Understa

4 min

What gets measured is NOT what gets managed

"What gets measured, gets managed." Peter Drucker is often attributed with this quote but he probably wasn't the first to say it and the origin of this expression is up for debate. Whoever said it first, I disagree. Like many cliches, "what gets measured, gets done" is half right. Right enough to be believable. Wrong enough to be mislieading. If we measure our weight, will it change? We can quantify the velocity of planets, but does that mean we can control them? What changes

4 min

Risk management should create and protect value

*It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." – Roy Disney ISO31000 (Section 3, Part A) says that risk management should create and protect value, and it’s true. Unstated, is what does the organization value? The answer is in theory, stated in policy and objectives. If not, it’s time to go back to square one and get some answers. Depending on the organization, what it values, could be any combination of things. The following is a partial list to get yo

3 min

Three fundamentals of Key Performance Indicators

Figure 1: Mockup of a KPI reporting dashboard Measuring performance seems complex (and it is) but let's not lose sight of the basics. The trick with key performance indicators (KPIs) comes down to three questions: What is KEY? What is PERFORMANCE? What are INDICATORS? What is KEY? What do you care about? You could apply this question to your personal preferences in life but what we are talking about here is what is important to your organization. Organizations don't have a s

5 min

As High or Low As Reasonably Practicable (AHLARP)

The traditional view of managing risk to be as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) is fine for negative risk. Unfortunately for ALARP, the ISO31000 definition of risk; the effect of uncertainty on objectives; includes both positive and negative risks. Time methinks, for ALARP to retire before people start to notice that it can no longer do its job anymore. Figure 1: AHLARP Model Thanks to ISO 31000:2009 we also want to manage positive risks; to be as HIGH as reasonably prac

5 min

Ten Tips for Presenting Great Documents

“Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.” - Hunter S. Thompson A lot of people spend a lot of time in life preparing corporate documents that never get read. Sad but true. Don't be one of them. If you are going to put a lot of time into creating a report, proposal, contract or business case, don't just staple something together or email a pdf. Your time is worth something son you want to give it the best chance of a good life. Here are some of my suggestions to make any d

3 min

Why benchmark?

Every year, we spend billions of dollars on risk management initiatives, often without any subsequent assessment of the effectiveness of those risk treatments. The volatility of recent years has rightfully called into question the effectiveness of current risk management processes. Investors, regulators, managers and the general public are all seeking greater accountability into both the positive and negative impacts of risk on organizational and societal future performance.

4 min

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Fred R. Barnyard

I’m a visual person, and like most of us in the 21st century, I never seem to have a lot of spare time. Perhaps you are also short of time. If so, I write for people just like you. A few people have asked me over the years, how I create the illustrations. There is no simple answer to this as I'm forever playing with different tools. The easiest and fastest for most graphics is probably good old Powerpoint. Sure, it hasn't got the graphing capabilities of Excel or the photo ed

6 min

Business Cases: The Merits and Pitfalls of Numbers

Did you know that 69.2% of all statistics are made up on the spot? If you are publishing online or crafting business cases, you might be wise to make sure that YOUR data comes from the other 42%. The 42% that are rigorously researched, relevant, defensible and calculated accurately. Actually, that would be 30.8% but you get the point; when crafting a business case, no matter how many great arguments you have, it's essential to have your numbers correct. But just how do you ma

12 min

Non-Verbal Communication

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." Ralph Waldo Emerson Every day, as managers, leaders, parents, friends and colleagues we consciously and unconsciously respond to, and transmit, countless nonverbal cues and behaviors, including postures, facial expression, pauses, proximity, touch tone of voice, eye gaze, obvious gestures, and micro-gestures. All of our nonverbal behaviors send strong messages and they don't stop when you stop speaking. Even when y

2 min

How to Create Effective KPIs

If you've ever used Key Performance Indicators, you've probably found yourself wondering if they were worth the bother? Some we record simply because we can, others because we have always tracked them in the past. Some of the better KPIs will shape behaviours that help your organization achieve objectives, while others simply tell you if objectives were achieved. Not all of them are useful but how do you tell the difference? Which ones drive performance and which ones are a w

JULIAN TALBOT