The world has changed

Sir Richard, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the risk and strategic consulting firm Strategia Worldwide, will be the keynote speaker at the final day of the Airmic Conference on 8 June.

He emphasises that building resilience to geopolitical risks is critical and that risks are inter-related. “The world changed on 24 February 2022. We are not going to see peace in Europe again while Putin is in the Kremlin. The threat to the security of the European mainland, and therefore the UK, is existential. The reality is that UK defence starts not on the white cliffs of Dover but on the frontiers of Poland and the Baltic States. Organisations have to think strategically, and link risk and strategy. Risk managers need to have this on their radar and be properly informed about geopolitical risks and understand the implications.”

Sir Richard is a great proponent of business and war games as a method of stress testing crisis and business continuity plans. “Too often, they are written up and just left on a shelf.” Instead, in a business game, the organisation sets out its plans and proposed actions. The red team, role playing adversaries or stakeholders, for example, counters them. “The aim is not to catch people out but to identify weaknesses in a safe-to-fail environment, so they can put things right.”

Building resilience takes time and resources, but they are time and money well spent if the organisation is then prepared for the unexpected. How are you going to respond? This is the question to have in mind, whatever the circumstances. Sir Richard agrees that the pandemic has probably strengthened companies’ crisis management but argues that there is a temptation now for them to assume the worst is over. It’s not. It’s a different crisis.  

An external perspective

Not surprisingly, Sir Richard sees great value for an organisation facing exceptional threats, like the current geopolitical risks, to get independent support and advice on resilience and crisis management planning. “It’s difficult to mark your own homework properly.”

In his experience, this broader, external view often spots areas of risk that people inside the organisation haven’t considered. Thus equipped, the risk manager can think them through and apply suitable mitigation. “This is why people in the military train. It’s to get things out in the open, recognise mistakes and do something about them. You need an open learning culture, not one of blame. Then mistakes can be made in a safe place, and it’s not just an intellectual exercise.” 

Drawing on the military model, Sir Richard says that in a business, the true risk manager is the CEO as the overall commander, while the risk manager performs a staff officer role. “The risk manager needs to be in the CEO’s pocket. There shouldn’t be layers of corporate bureaucracy in between. The CEO needs to be able to ask the question directly: Where are we standing? Are we in danger?”

For more information on the Airmic Conference: https://airmicconference.com/