When bad things happen, people look for someone to blame – asserting that the scapegoats should have seen it coming. In retrospect, any number of indicators alerting them of impending disaster can often be found. While exceptions exist, experts usually agree that it is generally unfair to condemn people like the Admiral in charge of Pearl Harbor for not knowing what was coming; their view is that given the overwhelming amount of information out there, it is impossible to assemble together the relevant set of indicators without the benefit of hindsight.
We can appreciate this argument; the challenge is indeed extremely difficult, but just because it is hard does not make it real. While condemning the Admiral is probably unfair, the challenge of keeping that installation prepared is the outcome that must somehow be achieved.
In this episode, we relate this challenge to project managers and project risk plans. We examine how putting external “sensors” in place is an important part of any implementation and give examples of how people have managed to cut through information clutter. Finally, we reveal how run-the-business ways of thinking prevent change-the-business managers from dealing with risk effectively.
Introduction Page
