Play in the Grey

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

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I had a brief chat with a former student of mine earlier this week.  As I
have said before, that is one of the big thrills of being a professor –
meeting with your successful alumni.  This is a young man who is quite
deliberate and serious about his career and in designing and living the best
life possible.  So far he has been very successful at it and I am highly
confident he will continue to be successful going forward.

One of the secrets of success of this young man (and many other young – and
old people) is that he regularly consults with a mentor.  It is a brilliant
idea and one that risk managers – particularly those starting out in the
profession should use themselves. 

My former student was telling me about how his mentor tells him that he has
to be comfortable with "playing in the grey".  In other words, the world
for a person who wants to be successful is not filled with a set of black and
white choices.  Instead the person who gets ahead will be the one that can
deal with the ambiguity and the messiness of real world problems and
issues. 

Play in the grey.  What wonderful advice for a young professional and what
wonderful advice for all risk managers.


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