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Is doing risk analysis a change for you?

  

  

  

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Change is hard! There is no doubt that for most people and companies it is difficult to get everyone to agree and on board and then execute change in processes. We are often stuck in doing things ‘because we’ve always done it that way”. Sometimes that’s okay. It represents a tried and tested method that actually works for your organization. But are you sure that’s the situation? How do you know the difference between those processes that are in place because they work well, and the ones that are there because, well, because we’ve just always done it that way?

One of the ways you can find out the difference is to talk to the people executing the process. Ask them why they do it this way. If they can explain it, then it is probably one of the tested processes that is in place because it works well for them. If they can’t explain why, or they say just because that is how they were taught to do it, you might want to take a closer look at that one.

This is where fresh eyes and having new people on a team is so valuable. They HAVE to ask why or they won’t understand what’s going on. If the other people on the team cannot reasonably explain why to the new person, there may be a hidden problem.

Another way to tell the difference would be to diagram the process in some type of flow chart. Just follow the steps that are taken. Then ask for the justification or reasoning behind each step. You be able to expose wasted steps or gaps.

Remember that time changes everything, so a process that worked well at one point, may no longer be efficient because something else in its environment has changed, which makes it ineffective now.

How does all that relate to risk analysis? Take a look at your process for identifying potential threats and opportunities now. Is there a process? What are the steps? Can you diagram a flow chart? Ask the people who are involved why they do it this way. Is there even a process in place at all or is it just an afterthought? Take at look at the overview of my risk analysis process and compare it to what you are doing now. If you are constantly reacting to problems that were not anticipated, if you run around with your hair on fire trying dealing with problems, this may be one of the areas where you need to re-think and change your process.

I'll talk about how to make change happen so it's not quite so painful in a future post.