Transcript

MAN

So there's a to-do list when it comes to effective project risk management. The first on that list really is probably the hardest, and it will take the longest for you to actually implement. But it's the thing you have to work the hardest to actually make it work. But it has the biggest rewards. And that's the behaviour towards risk management, the culture within your organisation. It's not an easy thing.

You will always have people who are against it, who think it's a box ticking exercise, who think, actually, I've been doing this job for 20 years, what can you tell me? But actually, you know, the amount of times I've seen stuff where it's incredibly talented people, incredibly smart, bright, articulate, experienced people make mistakes because they can't see the wood from the trees. And that's what risk management kind of brings. It's a second view.

I've saved a very large sum of money on one project in particular just by asking a stupid question. It can be done. And that wasn't because I'm some sort of super genius. It was just because I was the right place at the right time, and I just asked the question. So behaviour is very, very key. And the one thing I would say to that is, you know, get people on board, evangelise. What you actually need to do is you actually need to demonstrate the benefits to people.

So you need a win. You need to get a small win, or preferentially, a huge win. But you need to be able to demonstrate that. And once you can demonstrate that to one person, you can demonstrate it to 10 people. You can demonstrate it to 100 or 1,000 people. And what you have to do is you have to nurture that, and you have to get more people involved in the process. You meet more evangelists, champions, whatever you want to call them, to come to your cause.

But that is the only way, frankly. Without that, without an open view on the benefits of risk management and people coming to it with an open, fresh pair of eyes, it's never going to be truly effective. So that's the hardest thing to do.

The second thing I would say is it's all about getting people involved in the process, it's communicating, it's collaborating. It's not just with yourself, of your own organisation, but with others, with clients, et cetera. Transparency is a great, great thing. Because yet again, it's different people's viewpoints, diversity and inclusion, it's all part of that. But actually, when you create something, when you come with something, don't make it three letters, or three words, shall I say, make it so someone from outside your organisation can understand it. And then you've got a greater chance of communicating that onwards.

The other point, I think, is it's all about checking the process, checking what you've done works. Where are we in this mitigation? Where are we in this process? How far down the line have we come? Not just saying, OK, it's now on a list of things somewhere, so therefore, it's done, that box has been ticked. But actually going back and saying, what do I actively need to do? What's the next step to actively reduce this issue we have? Or increase the chance of making this opportunity work? It's a long, long road, but actually, it's more than worth it in the end.