Attitude

*/By Rick Nason, PhD, CFA
Partner, RSD Solutions Inc/*

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I fly a fair bit, and being a Canadian I am somewhat limited to three
different airlines that serve my local airport.  On one airline the staff
seem to be truly happy about working.  They are friendly, courteous, and
almost always seem to have smiles on their faces.  On the second airline the
staff is quite professional, but really do not have an attitude one way or
the other – they certainly do not have a negative attitude, but neither do
they have a positive friendly attitude.  In regards to the third airline,
the attitude is generally (with some notable exceptions) very negative.  The
joke is that the company motto is "We're not happy until you're not
happy".  It is really quite shocking the difference.

In risk management we talk a lot about culture – but rarely do we talk
about attitude.  Creating a culture is a long and difficult task.  Perhaps
it is best to start with something simple and basic – such as attitude. 
Creating an environment where people have a positive attitude about risk, and
the risk management systems in place just might be a better way to think
about changing a company's risk culture. 


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