Topic Teasers Vol. 160: Is It Even Possible to Avoid Risk?

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  Risk Management  

On my annual evaluation, my boss marked me low on risk management. There are so many possible things that could go wrong on a project, I don’t see how I can anticipate all of them. And I’m certainly not powerful enough to keep them from happening. How can I make sure my boss is pleased with how I handle risk at my six-month checkup when he looks to see if I have improved​?

A. While no project manager can keep risk from happening, the secret is to set up a risk management plan that makes it look like you knew about these things all along, but couldn’t do anything to stop them. That way, even though the organization loses money and time when these things occur, you have a good excuse for why your project was impacted and your boss can’t lay the blame on you.

B. People think of risk as bad. In reality, all risk has the potential to be beneficial for your project. The trick is to see how you can twist negative things around to make them innovative money makers for your project products or services. Clever and experienced project managers can do this every time.

C. While it is not possible to anticipate all risk, avoid it or keep it from happening, knowing what might be likely to occur—or what to be on the …

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