University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Leader's Guide to Managing Risk
Book

The Leader's Guide to Managing Risk

A Proven Method to Build Resilience and Reliability

K. Scott Griffith
HarperCollins Leadership, 2023
First Edition: 2023
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

K. Scott Griffith, risk management consultant and former American Airlines chief safety officer, explains that the world is complicated and laden with risk. From the discovery of fire to today’s advanced digital technologies, humans have used their minds to survive and thrive despite risk. Everyone loves success and hopes it will continue, but people sometimes make mistakes or misunderstand their situations, and everything goes awry. People and companies make bad choices, and accidents happen, sometimes with dire consequences. However, you and your company can mitigate and manage your risk, build collaborative risk management into your culture, and even prevent some of those consequences if you understand the underlying causes of bad outcomes.

Summary

Sustained success over time is the only way to demonstrate reliability.

If you strive to be reliable, doing something just once in a while is insufficient – even when you do it well. You might be lucky or do good work in limited circumstances; however, if you wish for others to see you as reliable, you must perform your work regularly with excellence over time. This matters to your shareholders and consumers. For instance, if you need a heart surgeon, you want one with a proven record. When you’re flying home for the holidays, you want to know your pilot is reliable.

Reliability isn’t perfection. Mistakes and accidents happen. Unexpected and unpredictable circumstances arise. Even performing solidly over time doesn’t guarantee future flawless performance. The risk of failure doesn’t magically disappear. Whether you are analyzing everyday tasks, creating presentations, flying jets, or performing surgery, the risk of failure is always present.

Some risk issues are “socio-technical,” meaning that certain human activities are risky because they require interacting with complicated systems, such as vehicles, computer hardware...

About the Author

K. Scott Griffith, founder of SG Collaborative Solutions, helped create the Aviation Safety Action Programs. A retired airline pilot and former American Airlines chief safety officer, he received the Flight Safety Foundation’s Florez Award for contributions to aviation safety and – three times – the Federal Aviation Administration’s Good Friend Award. A frequent public speaker, Griffith pioneered the development of predictive risk management strategies, including socio-technical probabilistic risk assessment (STPRA) and Reliability Management Systems (RMS).  

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