Gestion des risques : nettoyer ses lunettes et apprendre à voir les opportunités.
If you have already read about risk management, I’m sure you’ve been told that you can see risk as either threat or opportunity. Sometimes it is also referred as negative or positive risk. See for instance this link to get back to PMBOK definition.
Risk response will depend on the nature of the risk :
- As response to a threat or negative risk one can avoid, mitigate, transfer or merely accept the risk.
- As response to an opportunity or positive risk one can exploit, enhance, share or merely accept the risk.
Which risk is a threat, which risk is an opportunity?
Quite often the answer is actually a mindset issue : a same topic can be tackled both as a threat or an opportunity.
I could see that French people will mostly see risk as only threat, whereas American or British colleagues will easily handle both : threat / opportunity.
Let me illustrate this by example, taken in real life : high way toll gate.
In a French tollgate, the FRAUD is perceived as a negative risk. A threat. We’ll take all actions to AVOID it : reinforced and faster barriers. Driver must pay to pass.
In some American tollgates, the FRAUD is an opportunity to make money by applying penalty. We will EXPLOIT the risk. Driver can pass without paying! He’ll pay later on internet or he/she has paid before. No barriers but efficient video cameras to identify and send penalty to the driver…. If the driver does not pay in due time.
Only a mindset question in the end!