by Rick Nason, PhD, CFA
Partner, RSD Solutions Inc.
Can you learn to be a good risk manager? Can you learn to be a good golfer? Can you learn to be a good tennis player?
My dad used to be the caretaker for the church tennis courts – back in the days when churches had such things as real clay tennis courts. While I was developing as a competitive junior player he was forced to watch way more tennis than he cared to. He also spent more time reading tennis magazines than he cared to. The upshot of all this is that my dad knew a heck of a lot about tennis. However he was not a tennis player. He never bothered, nor did he have the inclination to pick up a racket and play.
It is the same with golfers. I have a lot of friends who are crazy about the game – reading all that they can and hitting the links or the driving range at every opportunity. They know a lot about the game of golf – but they suck at it.
Knowing a lot about a subject does not necessarily make you an expert. Risk is a subject where a lot of people know a lot about the subject, but like my golfer friends they are not necessarily the best at it. Risk, like golf and tennis is a skill. Yes – it requires knowledge, but knowledge only gets you started. You need the practice, the passion, the wisdom, and a thirst to get better. And that is just the list to starting to be a good risk manager – or golfer – or tennis player.
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