One of the more difficult things to deal with in Risk Management is the notion of possible VS probable when making a decision about risk realisation. This notion played out late last year with the tragic death of a young Australian cricketer and then two days later by a cricketing umpire in Israel. In both instances a fast paced ball and lack of adequate head protection was the culprit but were these freak events?
The recent heatwave experienced during the first week of the Australian Tennis Open tournament has provided a window of reflection into leadership, cultural memes and of course, risk management. It has been interesting, watching from afar, how the leadership dealt with the unprecedented heatwave conditions, how they were driven by their own cultural memes and how ultimately, they made a series of risk denial decisions and only corrected their actions very late, after player and public outcry.
Hippocrates wrote, walking is man’s best medicine more than two and a half millennia ago yet we are still coming to terms with the practicalities of its meaning in the 21st century. Today we understand that moderate walking lowers cholesterol and blood pressure whilst reducing the risk of obesity, stress, diabetes, vascular stiffness, inflammation, colon cancer, dementia, depression and even erectile dysfunction.
In the space we operate in, there are times when we experience individual pushback with our Safety initiatives such as our coveted Leading Safetyworkshops. The odd participant will sigh and grumble that Safety gets in the way of doing business. That Safety is a cost to business and that budgets are tight.
