Risk Mitigation – Prepare for the Unexpected
Risk Mitigation or Risk Reduction is necessary for any successful business, so long as the business wishes to stay successful. A Risk Mitigation Plan should cover a broad range of possibilities, ranging from catastrophic natural disasters to a project head being called out of town for a family emergency.
Risk Mitigation v. Contingency Planning
Contingency Planning means coming up with an alternate solution in the event that the initial plan won’t work. For example, if the project head goes out of town then someone else will replace him or her. Risk mitigation would mean – first and foremost – ensuring that the project manager is not the kind of person who will go out of town for no reason. Even if this person does have to be unexpectedly absent they are not so crucial to the project that their leaving would be catastrophic. Risk Mitigation means minimizing the impact by ensuring that the present system can absorb the impact of unexpected change without interruption or alteration.
Risk Mitigation Examples
To use catastrophic natural disasters for an example, every business should ensure their business data is housed in multiple locations. This should be more than a simple backup, and should be accessible in the event of unforeseeable problems. For example, if there is an earthquake which destroys your home office, including your database servers, you will want to be sure that data is kept elsewhere and can be accessed just as if your home office were still around. Similarly, if the government should come calling and ask about the e-mail trail of your CFO, who is suspected of fraud, you want to be sure that data is kept elsewhere, where you can access it quickly. That is where Intradyn can help.
Risk Mitigation – Call It What It is
Risk Mitigation is professionalism under fire. If the heat should come, you want to be able to take it in stride and walk away with your head held high.
The Bottom Line – Tips to Mitigate Risk
- Plan Ahead. Before disaster strikes, think ahead. How can you minimize the chance of problems? If problems do arise, how will you deal with them?
- Play Devil’s Advocate. Try to see things from the other side. You want your business to do well and that is how you see things happening. When planning Risk Mitigation strategies, ask yourself “what if” things do not turn out as you hope?
- Seek a Reputable Third Party. Risk Mitigation is one area where seeking outside help is not only a good idea but may be the law. There are at least two good reasons to seek outside help. The first is that a third party may see possible problems you miss, because you are simply too close. The second is that you do not want to keep all your eggs in one basket, as the old saying goes.
- Don’t Panic. If disaster should strike – and you are not prepared – now is not the time to circle the wagons or bury your head in the sand. Look outside your company for help. Find a reputable third party to help mitigate the damage and plan for a more stable future. If you are prepared, as we hope you are, then rely on those systems to get you through.
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