Managing Risk — General Stanley McChrystal

The Tim Ferriss Show

“The idea that we want to mitigate risk to zero before we act is really common and really costly.” ~ General Stanley McChrystal

Why it matters: Building a risk immune system is critical for individuals and organizations. Risk control factors like communication, narrative, action, and bias, to name a few, are all part of how well you can detect, assess, and mitigate risks.

Start with communication. There are four tests leaders and teams can use to evaluate their communication:

• Can I get my message to the people I’m trying to communicate to?
• Will I communicate my message?
• Can the person receive and understand my message?
• Is my message timely and accurate?

The bottom line: Of the ten risk control factors identified by General McChrystal, communication and leadership are the two most important. If we sense threats but can’t communicate, we are unable to do anything about it.

(Note: My former boss took issue with the podcast title saying, “You can never master risk. You can only manage it.”)

General Stanley McChrystal - Mastering Risk: A User's Guide (#535)

This article first appeared on the Social Leverage Letter.

Gurugu | CC BY-SA 4.0