As I rode my bike to the Stockholm central station this morning it struck me that the more protected you are the faster you go, and the more risks you take. Since I was travelling to the UK I had left my helmet at home (cost carriers are low cost for a reason, and extra luggage is not one of them) which is rare, so as a consequence I was taking it a quite bit easier than I normally would have. And since I was riding fixed gear, I also kept my attention as far upfront as possible, since there are no mechanical brakes on the bike to assist with the process of slowing you down.
Since I was lacking in both protective (no helmet) and divertive (less breaking power) aspects I was very aware of the risks I was taking and thus I was doing my utmost to avoid any. This of course got me thinking.
Are we less willing to accept even the notion of risk if we lack any risk management solution at all?
I’m quite sure that this is true for us as human beings. But does this mean that sourcing professionals who know that they lack the processes and tools to manage risk source more carefully than those who are secure that they can handle any problem should they arise?.
A lot of risk management vendors push strongly for the need of supplier information – preferably in real time to avoid outdated information – but I’m quite convinced that the best risk management solution starts at home with large dose of risk awareness. Carefulness might not be one of the top credentials when scouting for purchasing talent but the ability to avoid risk altogether should definitely be rewarded in one way or another.
September 8, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Brilliant! Studies (University of Bath 2006) also show that not only does cyclists wearing a helmet take more risks, but car drivers tend to pass closer when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets. Check out: http://tinyurl.com/y62q58.
September 15, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Torbjörn, I couldn’t disagree more with your last conclusion. Risk management is not the same thing as risk avoidance. And being able to avoid all risks does probably not make a good buyer. No risk – no reward! Most business opportunities come out of some form of risk, and risk management is in fact the process of dealing with this in a structured and analytical manner. I would not hire anyone whose main philosophy would be to avoid rocking the boat.