by Michael Arbow, MBA
Partner, RSD Solutions Inc.
Recently I went on a vacation to Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine to do some “mountain” hiking. Over three days I hiked several trails in levels of difficulty from easy to strenuous or difficult. One particular trail – The Precipice – is rather popular and considered not suitable for the faint of heart and my hiking partner declined to join me for she considered the trail too risky and believed I should consider it the same. During our discussion, I recalled a conversation between a CBC radio interviewer and an experienced mountaineer who had scaled Mt. Everest a few times. The interviewer asked: “,… but isn’t climbing Mt. Everest very risky?” upon which the talk show guest replied “If it was risky, I won’t do it.”
What the interviewee then explained was that given his intense and detailed preparation, confidence in choice of mountain equipment and his physical and mental fitness; what seems as a risk to many was not a risk to him. This reinforced for me that risk is subjective or alternatively that what we originally perceive as risk can be reduced to a near non-risk situation with proper planning and thought. Organizations face risk daily, however more successful ones routinely enter seemingly dubbed “risky” areas because they have identified the risks and put in place risk mitigation tools or procedures that provide them with the confidence of moving forward. This begs the question: Are there risks your organization/department has identified that may be holding you back unnecessarily which, if you took the effort to mitigate could increase profitability and opportunities?
Note: A special thanks to LB for the pic. One of the summits we shared - Dorr Mountain with Cadillac Mt. in the background.
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