Recent weather-related crises that have impacted various parts of the nation are sad reminders of the devastation that can occur unexpectedly, impacting individuals, businesses and communities. Risks can also be created by the economy, competitors, market shifts, employee actions-and a myriad of other impacts.  

Attempting to identify and manage all of the potential risks facing a company can be a daunting process. But, there are a few simple steps you can take to help identify the risks most likely to impact your business: 

• Determine what risks are facing your organization. There are a variety of risks for any organization; however, some businesses should be aware of some more than others. For example, a company with a narrow range of products or services faces a market risk that consumer tastes may change and demand will drop sharply for their goods or services.
• Determine the likelihood of the risk. Some risks are more likely to materialize than others. For example, the risk of a hurricane destroying your office is obviously very low if you are located in the Great Plains. However, if your company is engaged in consulting services that touch on legal issues, there is probably a risk that you may at some point be accused of unauthorized practice of law.
• Evaluate the severity of the risk. Will the risk you have identified threaten the very existence of your company if it materializes? Or will it simply be a nuisance that causes some additional paper work or a few long nights? For each risk you identify, critically assess how damaging it will be to your organization.
• Prioritize the risks graphically. Create a simple graph with likelihood of risk on the horizontal axis, going left to right from least likely to most likely and severity of risk on the vertical axis running top to bottom from least severe to most severe. For each risk you have identified, place a dot representing the risk on the chart according to your estimation of likelihood and severity of the risk. The risks at the top right corner of your diagram should be addressed first, as they are the most severe and most likely to occur. Rate the significance of each risk according to their relative distance from this top right corner.

Once you have prioritized your risks, you can take steps to address them, knowing that you are focusing on the most important risks first. (Note: you can use the same process to identify and prioritize the opportunities facing your organization.)
 

Need help with crisis communication? Contact us. (You'll also find that the steps/techniques outlined in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Strategic  Planning can readily be applied to your crisis communication needs.)

Many managers struggle with choosing a management technique for the decision making process. Some managers tend to simply issue orders based on their own judgment and expect obedience, while others actively engage their subordinates in the decision making process. Listed below are some common management styles along with some of the pros and cons for each. There's nothing necessarily right or wrong about any of these styles, but some are more appropriate in certain situations than others.

The most common management styles (listed in order from those most manager-driven to those most employee-driven are:

• Authoritarian
• Consultative
• Collaborative
• Laissez Faire

To learn more about each of these styles, and determine which styles are most relevant to your business environment, visit our blog -- then take a quick poll to see how you compare to other managers.