Risk management is one of the most fascinating processes you encounter if you manage projects, organizations or strategy.
Fascinating, because the identification and assessment of risk is a process that is both creative and systematic, using the right and left side of your brain.
You engage your right brain creative, intuitive energy where you anticipate, uncover and discover your potential risks. It’s your opportunity to do some divergent thinking. You are not constrained to think in a certain way, or to fit your ideas into a pre-set framework. Studies show that our capacity for divergent thinking reduces significantly as we get older, so consider it an opportunity to exercise those neurons that haven’t had a workout any time recently.
But to be effective, you need to bring the left side of the brain into play as well. This occurs when you categorize risks in a logical, rational and patterned way, so that you can assess their impacts and how you should respond to them.
For now, let’s look at a practical risk management technique that helps get those brain neurons firing and works well for identifying risks. Here are the four steps:
Now that risks are identified, it’s time to move on to assess risks, so that you can prioritize them and develop risk treatment plans.
A sound risk management process uses divergent and convergent thinking, so that you extract the maximum value in identifying risks. If this exercise isn’t completed effectively, you might be surprised at how many project risks slip through the net.
For busy professionals who need to meet continuing professional development requirements and boost their career opportunities, our online courses provide a flexible and cost-effective way to achieve this by providing anywhere, anytime access and a supportive online community. Continuing Professional Development offers a series of online project management courses to advance your project management skills and your career. Our Risk Management Online Course will give you the practical skills to develop a comprehensive risk management process. You can purchase it separately, or as part of our bundled course Project Management Essentials-Part 2.
About the Author
Vivian Kloosterman
Vivian’s career in professional engineering spanned 35 years of technical, business, management and governance experience. She draws on her industry experience to write articles that are practical and relevant to a wide range of readers. Her aim is to get you thinking and help you meet your continuing professional development requirements.Print
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- JOSHUAsays:August 31, 2018 at 11:40 pmthis work is carefully done and it has added a value to knowledgeReply
