Time and again we see that the greatest risk to us as individuals, and to our organizations, is us.

From an organizational standpoint, narratives set norms and standards that do much to drive behaviors.

Effective action begins when we overcome inertia. It demands recognition of the need to act and the courage to take the step—absent that, inertia rules. Once in motion, we must constantly surveil our actions to determine if they are contextually appropriate, or if their intended effect backfires.

Most battles are won before the contest begins—by those who are most prepared.

Lehman Brothers couldn’t manage risk properly because its risk management functions were buried in corporate hierarchy. Make no mistake: the team’s risk assessments were not incorrect because they disregarded the idea of risk management entirely—in fact, Lehman Brothers had several formal mechanisms to Detect, Assess, and Respond to risk—they were

An Unclear Mission. The organization does not understand what it’s trying to do. This is all too common. Lack of a Strategy—or Failure to Follow It. There is a lack of alignment across the team on “how” the mission is to be accomplished. Often strategies brief well but are either unrealistic or simply ignored. Poor Communication. The parts of the

Your Turn Does your organization’s structure function as envisioned? Does it help your team achieve its goals? Where is power located in your organization? Who benefits from being close to this power? Where in your structure is responsibility for risk? Is this responsibility understood and respected? The Bottom Line Structure enables or inhibits

Soldiers and athletes know from experience that the most dangerous opponent is one who lost the last contest but has the humility to learn why—and the discipline to correct their weaknesses.

Too often our efforts to manage risk create further risks. Whether in combat or in day-to-day life, we encounter situations that call for us to assume a reasonable amount of risk to achieve our goals, and if we try to make ourselves “bulletproof,” we may ultimately collapse under the weight of our gear.