9.1 Standard Methods
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no-failures-no-progress/)) dead-end chances are reduced and often quantum leaps
occur. He adds further that if a group of professionals is tasked with solving a problem, significantly better results are obtained by a group of strangers rather than a
group of friends. The perception of the friends group is that they had good time.
They worked well together and performed an excellent job. In other words they are
complacent.
This last statement, in particular, leads us to our work at our clients’ operations.
We always adopt a “Daddy what’s that?” attitude. Indeed, we ask questions and never
accept elliptical answers. We know by looking at the eyes of the clients’ employee
that after a while, this drives them nuts. However, we do not care! Our goal is to
disrupt workers’ complacency. We introduce that randomness that psychological
tests show to be so important.
It generally works this way:
• DAY 1: we ask questions, we get elliptical answers: “I do not know”; “we
have always done it that way”; “Joey knew, but is now retired (http://www.
riskope.com/2012/09/27/risk-managers-are-retiring-corporations-have-to-fightthe-brain-drain-or-be-faced-with-over-exposures-to-risks/)”, etc. Sometimes we
actually run heavy risks of getting a punch in the nose!
• DAY 2: people know better: the disruption has provoked a tad of shame and lots of
curiosity. They have discussed, possibly read old reports, called Joey… Sometimes
we joke that likely the gain of knowledge on day 2 is one of the largest, immediate
and most economical advantages of performing a risk assessment.
• DAY 3: interviews and meetings become more fruitful, hazard identification (http://www.riskope.com/2016/02/18/intensive-risk-management-moduleat-the-university-of-turin-saa-business-school/) is easier as a creative environment
is finally in place, and complacency has been mitigated.
Over the years the “Daddy what’s that?” attitude has brought incredible benefits
to our clients and great professional satisfaction to us.
Remember what you are doing is not an audit. It is not a policing act. You just
have to be earnest in your desire to understand how the system works. What you
want to do is to gain as quickly as possible an unbiased and factual understanding on
how the system (operation, process, team) works in real life. You want to see what
lies beyond “official” flow charts and organizational schemes.
Four “Tricks” in the Bag to Engage our Audience
(1) The “Avatar Deck of Cards”
This deck consists of eight cards, each representing a “avatar character” typically
encountered in organizations.
In Fig. 9.1, for example, you can see the card of Mrs. Rozy Scenario, avatar of the
overconfident, hazard and risk-unaware character. Mr. Perryl Shield card (Fig. 9.2),
is the character who believes that technological, brute force mitigation can solve any
present and future problem.
121
no-failures-no-progress/)) dead-end chances are reduced and often quantum leaps
occur. He adds further that if a group of professionals is tasked with solving a problem, significantly better results are obtained by a group of strangers rather than a
group of friends. The perception of the friends group is that they had good time.
They worked well together and performed an excellent job. In other words they are
complacent.
This last statement, in particular, leads us to our work at our clients’ operations.
We always adopt a “Daddy what’s that?” attitude. Indeed, we ask questions and never
accept elliptical answers. We know by looking at the eyes of the clients’ employee
that after a while, this drives them nuts. However, we do not care! Our goal is to
disrupt workers’ complacency. We introduce that randomness that psychological
tests show to be so important.
It generally works this way:
• DAY 1: we ask questions, we get elliptical answers: “I do not know”; “we
have always done it that way”; “Joey knew, but is now retired (http://www.
riskope.com/2012/09/27/risk-managers-are-retiring-corporations-have-to-fightthe-brain-drain-or-be-faced-with-over-exposures-to-risks/)”, etc. Sometimes we
actually run heavy risks of getting a punch in the nose!
• DAY 2: people know better: the disruption has provoked a tad of shame and lots of
curiosity. They have discussed, possibly read old reports, called Joey… Sometimes
we joke that likely the gain of knowledge on day 2 is one of the largest, immediate
and most economical advantages of performing a risk assessment.
• DAY 3: interviews and meetings become more fruitful, hazard identification (http://www.riskope.com/2016/02/18/intensive-risk-management-moduleat-the-university-of-turin-saa-business-school/) is easier as a creative environment
is finally in place, and complacency has been mitigated.
Over the years the “Daddy what’s that?” attitude has brought incredible benefits
to our clients and great professional satisfaction to us.
Remember what you are doing is not an audit. It is not a policing act. You just
have to be earnest in your desire to understand how the system works. What you
want to do is to gain as quickly as possible an unbiased and factual understanding on
how the system (operation, process, team) works in real life. You want to see what
lies beyond “official” flow charts and organizational schemes.
Four “Tricks” in the Bag to Engage our Audience
(1) The “Avatar Deck of Cards”
This deck consists of eight cards, each representing a “avatar character” typically
encountered in organizations.
In Fig. 9.1, for example, you can see the card of Mrs. Rozy Scenario, avatar of the
overconfident, hazard and risk-unaware character. Mr. Perryl Shield card (Fig. 9.2),
is the character who believes that technological, brute force mitigation can solve any
present and future problem.