Making Risk Management Work: Engaging People to Identify, Own and Manage Risk (Short Guides to Business Risk)

Making risk management work means engaging people to identify, own and manage risk. Many organisations have spent considerable time and money setting up risk frameworks, processes, and supporting tools, but these have failed to deliver value. Instead, they should focus on the people.

Bringing together the expertise of Ruth Murray-Webster in the human aspects of risk management and Penny Pullan’s deep expertise in facilitation, creative collaboration, and virtual leadership, this book provides tried and tested approaches to make each process step work well within the context of your own organisation and serves as a guide as to how to work effectively with groups. By translating a highly technical and complex subject into an easy-to-follow guide, this book goes beyond ‘tick-box’ approaches and provides top tips on how to engage others in developing risk management solutions and how to avoid many of the common pitfalls. This new edition includes two brand new chapters, one taking a deeper dive into the common decision-biases among groups in organisations, and one looking at remote and hybrid ways of communication and facilitation.

If you are involved in trying to make risk management work, whatever the context, this book will provide you with support and practical advice, in an approachable way, supported by real-life examples and memorable illustrations.

Ruth Murray-Webster is a recognised leader of project-based organisational change and risk management, performing roles as a practitioner, advisor, facilitator, researcher, and author. She is passionate about helping people overcome the many pitfalls involved in making risk management work. See www.potentiality.uk.

Penny Pullan is a pioneer of virtual leadership, expert on effective workshops, and facilitator of creative collaboration. Penny has run countless risk workshops over the years: in person, remote and hybrid. Like Ruth, she has written a number of books! See www.makingprojectswork.co.uk.