There are many articles, methodologies and so on regarding managing risk from a conservative or negative perspective. But risk also has an upside – opportunity.
We have come across many well designed and managed risk registers and mature processes but they very often miss the opportunity aspect.
The traditional view of risk is negative, and viewed as a threat with adverse consequences on the business case. But risk thinking should include the opportunity, which could have a beneficial effect on delivering benefits. Despite this, most organisations still concentrate on managing threats, and approaches to opportunity management remain patchy and reactive.
Rarely does the Risk Response Planning phases presents suitable approaches for dealing with positive upside risks/opportunities.
| The following is a high-level summary of responses that an organisation can adopt to consider and take advantage of opportunity risk. |
| Threat Response | Generic Strategy | Opportunity Response |
| Avoid | Eliminate uncertainty | Exploit |
| Transfer | Allocate ownership | Share |
| Mitigate | Modify exposure | Enhance |
| Accept | Include in baseline | Ignore |
In summary, considering the upside of risk or the opportunity can provide many benefits to your organisation.
It also changes the perception of risk and starts conversations around how to take advantage and turning an often negative aspect of the business case into a positive one.
Hope this helps and please contact us if you would like more information and assistance.
Equal Bytes
0487 410 772
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