It should be no secret that this series of articles tends to focus on methods of proactive risk management in business enterprise design and operations. That topic has been addressed as it applies to startups, employment, finance, communications and assets. Best practices on those and other matters have been suggested. And the use of professionals and consultants as part of the overall “team” was (strongly) recommended.
Now, who is not hoping for a creative, productive and prosperous 2019 full of innovation and performance? (Assumedly everyone reading this magazine…) As the sounds of “Auld Lang Syne” waft quietly away, it is certainly worth a review of why business people should care at all about devoting any resources to worrying about what could go wrong before those concerns ever arise. [Special note: This article is not addressing resolutions. Planning – yes; dreaming – no.]
Let us reduce the entire subject of proactive risk management in action to three connected words: return-on-investment. That is it. The core of forward-thinking risk planning.
“Risk” itself is based in the environment within which an enterprise operates and serves as a predictive function concerning knowable and unknowable forces within an always-changing environment. As it concerns business, risk…
- is full of contingencies,
- and it relates to that environment, considering the place, time, mix of personalities involved and current legal and regulatory environment.
So, then, why should you, actual business founders and operators, care about risk? Because…
- life in all its richness is full of surprises, and
- it is less expensive to attempt to understand in advance what can occur in all its possible permutations, and then to respond accordingly.
From the lessons our elders taught us, this all makes sense. Managing risk in their terms means…
- learning from experience
- going through the learning curve, and
- planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
Back to the core ROI concept embedded in proactive risk management, what is the anticipated outcome to a company as a result of engaging in proactive risk management? By regularly addressing the environment within which the business operates and making preparations to act within that environment routine and second-nature, that enterprise can focus its energy and creativity on innovating and bringing those innovations to market.
Now that we have this refresher in-place, future pieces will take this theory and put it into action. That is, how to engage in proactive risk management planning and – more importantly – the inherent value in implementing those plans.
Is everyone in their running blocks? Then on we go to 2019 and beyond!
For more information, call Philip N. Kabler, Esq. of the Gainesville, FL office of Bogin, Munns & Munns, and P.A. at (352) 332-7688, www.boginmunns.com/Office?Office=Gainesville, where he practices in the areas of business, real estate, banking, and equine law.
This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and readers should not rely on it as such. It is offered only as general information. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding their legal matters, as every situation is unique.