Friday, July 18, 2014

Risk Hugs

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

*/Follow Rick Nason on Twitter/* [1]

*/Follow RSD Solutions on Twitter/* [2]

No doubt you have seen the bumper stickers, "Have you hugged your kid
today?"  A nice sentiment and one we likely all need to be reminded of
more frequently. 

We should also remember that in risk management we need to hug (that is
embrace) our risks as well.  I am tired and frustrated at seeing article
after article on risk management stating that the responses to risk are: (1)
eliminate, (2) mitigate or (3) accept.  We have to remember that some risks
should be embraced and enhanced.  Risks can be good or bad.  Good risks
need to be embraced, or else they will grow to be adults that have no use for
their parents.


[1] https://twitter.com/rnason_dal
[2] https://twitter.com/rsdsolutions

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Paraphrasing Eisenhower

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

*/Follow Rick Nason on Twitter/* [1]

*/Follow RSD Solutions on Twitter/* [2]

What counts is not the size of the risk management system; it's the size of
the management in the risk system.


[1] https://twitter.com/rnason_dal
[2] https://twitter.com/rsdsolutions

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Oh No, Another Einstein Quote

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

*/Follow Rick Nason on Twitter/* [1]

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I think Einstein might have been inspired to state the quote below after
touring various companies' risk departments.

 "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant.  We have created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift."  


[1] https://twitter.com/rnason_dal
[2] https://twitter.com/rsdsolutions

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Communication

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

*/Follow Rick Nason on Twitter/* [1]

*/Follow RSD Solutions on Twitter/* [2]

As a university professor I assign readings to my students and they dutifully
attend my lectures and take notes (or at least most of them do).  There is a
lot of communication (hopefully not perceived as all one way) between a
professor and the students.  However as any random exam result shows, there
is a bog difference between communication and understanding.

In recent years the amount of communication between companies and their
stakeholders on risk issues has increased dramatically.  However we should
never confuse volume of communication with volume of understanding.  


[1] https://twitter.com/rnason_dal
[2] https://twitter.com/rsdsolutions

Monday, July 14, 2014

Chicken Soup

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

*/Follow Rick Nason on Twitter/* [1]

*/Follow RSD Solutions on Twitter/* [2]

If you had a similar upbringing to mine, it is likely that when you got the
cold or the flu that your mother would make you chicken soup.  Chicken soup
tastes good, and especially good when you are not feeling well.  The medical
evidence is rather mixed on whether or not chicken soup actually helps cure a
cold or a flu, but the traditional wisdom was that it had significant
curative effects. 

The point of this blog is that many risk protocols are like chicken soup. 
Their effectiveness may be highly questionable but we cling to them because
the taste make us feel good.  However we must never confuse feeling good
with being cured.  


[1] https://twitter.com/rnason_dal
[2] https://twitter.com/rsdsolutions