Risks
Expect the Unexpected!
Following on from the last topic on planning, one element of delivering projects to be mindful of, is the reality that we cannot plan for every eventuality. Sometimes factors beyond our control impact on what we are trying to achieve and there may be little we can do to avoid them. Like a sudden influx of frogs on the road, unexpected events can get in our way, slow down progress or cause us to detour. If we are completely unprepared for them, sometimes they can even lead to casualties and prevent us reaching our destination at all.
1.Stay alert!
Any good driving instructor will repeat to his students the importance of remaining alert at all times to the conditions. Warning signs like the image of frogs crossing can give us clues and prepare us for the possibility of having to brake. The more aware you are of the possibility of threats, the more likely you are to spot them soon enough to respond. A plan based on out of date information is no longer valid so we may need to revise our thinking and update our assessments. As the often-quoted journalist US George Wills put it “The future has a way of arriving unnanounced” Therefore taking time to proactively monitor the wider environment within which we are delivering is useful. It may feel counterintuitive – like a luxury we cannot afford when we are engaging all our efforts towards a single goal with a fixed deadline, but if we do not stay alert, we will miss out on the early warning opportunities that exist. Therefore, keep your mental radar on for a changing risk landscape and in particular use communication opportunities with stakeholders to really listen not just tell.
The future has a way of arriving unannounced.
George Will
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_will_104463
2. Prepare your response strategies.
Whilst you may not know in advance exactly what problems you will have to face during your project, you can at least prepare some response strategies. For example, if you were implementing new equipment for your business and had a budget of £0.5m, you cannot foresee every possible reason that you may need more funds, but you can still identify some aspects of your response if a problem took you 1% over budget, or 5% over budget or 35% over budget. In the same way that knowing your ‘walk away’ price gives you an edge in a negotiation, identifying your absolute maximum or your ‘point of no return’ can give you confidence in leading a project and avoid time-wasting when it happens, allowing you to be decisive and remain in control at all times.
Understanding your alternative options, is another way of being prepared for risk. When you commit to a course of action, do so aware of the alternatives so that when a major issue arises, you can quickly reassess. Like planning an important journey, although you dont predict interruption, knowing which direction to go and what train to catch if you did miss the plane will save you a lot of hassle and stress in the eventuality that you miss the cut-off and are left stranded on the concourse!
Another aspect of preparedness is communication planning. Who needs to know there has been a problem and what is the agreed process for deciding how to get back on track? If that equipment installation suddenly becomes too expensive, are you at liberty to choose an alternative yourself, or does someone else have to be informed and agree with your proposed course of action? Having the ‘rules of engagement’ and levels of tolerance defined ahead of time means in the heat of the moment you can focus your energy on resolving the problem, not waste time working through the politics around it.
3. Step back and review
It is tempting, when we are driving forward on a very specific, goal orientated agenda, for us to put our heads down and plough on with the work with such single-mindedness that we do not notice when we start to slip off course. If we push full steam ahead without pausing to review progress so far every so often, we lose the opportunity to assess whether any new risks are rearing their head and to make a judgement on whether there is any further preventative or responsive action needed to avoid veering too far off from the desired destination. It’s no coincidence that in the corporate governance lingo we call oversight boards “steering groups” – they providing guiderails to work within and also offer a nudge here and there to help projects maintain a steady path, just like the subtle steering motion needed at the wheel of a car, even on apparently straight roads. Make sure you have scheduled in some regular time to take a chance to pause, review progress so far and adjust course if necessary.
4. Manage rather than avoid
Another useful pointer to remember about project risks is that no bold, dynamic, new venture or ambitious project will ever be without them! The very nature of leading on something that is complex, involves bringing together multiple stakeholders and resources in a way you havent tried before means that we cant avoid risk completely. It would not even be desirable to do so! Without taking some leaps of faith into the unknown, we could never make progress. Ensure there are as many opportunities to test and evaluate/ adjust details where needed, and if there are unnecessarily high risks that can be eliminated, take action to do so – but don’t expect any endeavour to be 100% to plan or without risk!
You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to leave the shore.
William Faulkener
5. Be methodical
You will find many variations from a variety of sources on risk matrices, definitions and processes for identifying, calculating, evaluating and capturing risk. There are even specialist diplomas on the subject. For example, a potentially useful video introduction to different techniques by James Vesper may be found here – https://youtu.be/olMKwMzEcyU, and Michael B Bender provides an overview of generic risk management proces for project managers here – https://youtu.be/O6sVZ5ZwST4. Both of these types of video are worthwhile resources, however, it is not my intention to recommend one particular method over another. I only wish to highlight that what will undoubtedly be beneficial is to pick your method and terminology and agree it with anyone involved in making decisions about your project ahead of time. The last thing you need when facing an impending crisis, and requiring the input of all key players, is an argument about whether a proposed course of action should be categorised “Highly Likely” or “Really Important” and where one set of stakeholders are expecting a PRA table and another are more used to working with FMEA! In particular, if there are multiple suppliers involved, watch out for 1-5 ratings scales being used in opposite ways – very confusing, and it happens! Thankfully it is easy to rid yourself of the hassle of such misunderstanding by agreeing terminology and approach upfront and this ensures all are focused on the right things when you need them most!
Want to practise setting up for success with risk management?
Why not try the exercise in the mini-guide below.
If you would like more indepth support on managing risk, or any aspect of your project or new venture, or you would like to subscribe to the full series, contact us at info@changeguide.co.uk