Today is World Safety Day. Supported by the International Labour Organization, the campaign is intended to focus international attention on how to create a safety and health culture in the workplace and help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries. UL Workplace Health & Safety created the following infographic, in order to help spotlight the scope of the problem:
NEW ORLEANS—The RIMS 2015 Annual Conference & Exhibition kicked off with a burst of creativity at the opening General Session as bestselling author and graffiti artist Erik Wahl encouraged attendees to reawaken their imaginations as they look for opportunities to improve their business.
More than just a typical lecture, Wahl demonstrated the value of creativity by painting portraits of icons like U2’s Bono and Steve Jobs as he made the case that breaking through complacency can lead to new ideas. Wahl pointed that once upon a time, we all considered ourselves artists, so much so that the scent of Crayola crayons remains one of the top 20 most recognizable scents to America adults, according to a Yale University study. The smell of crayons has even been found to reduce blood pressure by as much as 10 points, Wahl said. So with that in mind, he advised the audience to “take a drag of a Crayola” whenever they felt stressed. The real lesson, though, was that creativity is in all of us, no matter how analytical our adult selves have become.
The key is to break through the fear that prevents us from moving forward and taking advantage of opportunities. Sometimes it only requires us to look at the world with a new perspective. “If you’re not trying new things,” Wahl asked, “are you pushing hard enough?” As he completed his third portrait—this time of Albert Einstein, who once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge,”—it was clear that success really can be considered an art. All we need to do is get out our own set of crayons.
MIAMI – Enterprise risk management (ERM) continues to gain momentum in boardrooms around the world as it is increasingly being considered an essential element of an organization’s strategic planning process.
In recognition of one organization’s efforts to successfully align its ERM program with its strategic objectives, thereby enhancing its resiliency and operational efficiencies, RIMS presented the 2014 ERM Award of Distinction to Malaysian-based Astro Overseas Limited at the RIMS ERM Conference in Miami.
The award was presented by Lori Seidenberg, senior vice president of insurance and risk management at Hunt Companies and member of the RIMS board of directors and was accepted by Ghislain Giroux Dufort, president of Baldwin Risk Strategies, on behalf of Astro Overseas Limited (above). It recognizes Astro for successfully implementing and sustaining an ERM program across multiple investments in a diverse mix of businesses in the media and broadcasting industries.
The program is an extension and evolution of the group enterprise risk management program implemented at Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad, which is Astro Overseas Limited’s sister company, and the main source of operations for television and radio broadcasting activity. The program not only allowed the organization to better manage its IT and cyberrisk vulnerabilities, but prompted its board of directors to include enterprise-wide risk assessments and related investment and risk performance dashboards as part of the organization’s strategic decision-making process.
“It started as a process to address operational risks but our leadership quickly realized the value our ERM program can add to achieving strategic objectives,” said Patrick Adam K. Abdullah, vice president of ERM at Astro Overseas Limited. “It’s our hope that sharing the success of our ERM program will inspire others to advance their own risk programs and highlight the impact such a program can have on an organization’s ability to navigate exposures and leverage new opportunities. It is a tremendous honor to be recognized with this prestigious award.”
Honorable mention for this year’s ERM Award of Distinction went to Schaumburg Ill.-based American Agricultural Insurance Company and was accepted by Lorie Graham, the company’s senior underwriting and corporate risk manager (below).
As a result of its ERM program, the company was able to reduce uncertainties caused by severe weather by reassessing corporate goals, developing a diversified income base and grow surplus.
“Whether it is global expansion, the use of new technologies or even outdated operational practices, ERM continues to prove to be an effective risk management approach that propels organizations, regardless of industry, to reach and exceed expectations,” said Carol Fox, RIMS director of strategic and enterprise risk practice. “The judging panel for the ERM Award of Distinction was impressed with the complexity and quality of all of the submissions and congratulates Astro Overseas Limited for winning this top honor.”
Judging criteria for the ERM Award of Distinction includes the scope of the ERM program and how it engages different levels throughout the organization; the program’s link or connection to the company’s overall mission; and its ability to create additional value for the organization.
MIAMI – It may be stating the obvious, but just about every company wants to be innovative. Innovation is what sets you apart from your peers and what will ultimately help you carve out a successful place in a given market. But actually being innovative is easier said than done. Innovation means change and often requires the disruption of traditional ways of doing business. For many companies, this change is scary. “What if we fail?” “What if we lose the customers we already have?” “What if the chances we take don’t pan out they way we hoped?” The fear of failure stifles the creative impulse to innovate and breeds complacency. Often, it’s only a matter of time before the company joins the likes of Circuit City, Blockbuster, Kodak and the rest on the ignominious list of brands that disappeared due to their unwillingness or inability to innovate and change with the times.
Speaking to attendees at the 2014 RIMS ERM Conference in Miami, author and CEO of Detroit Venture Partners Josh Linkner (above) summed up the problem. “We overestimate the risk of making a change, but underestimate the risk of standing still,” he said. According to Linkner, we need to tap into our latent ability to be creative and innovative in order to work past this mindset.
The key is to understand what makes an innovator who they are and how we can apply those qualities to our own lives. To this end, Linkner outlined the five “obsessions” common to all innovators:
1. Innovators encourage courage. Don’t be afraid to fail. James Dyson created more than 5,000 failed protoypes before successfully developing the vacuum motor than made him a billionaire.
2. Innovators shed the past. Protecting past successes often comes at the expense of future growth.
3. Innovators defy tradition. Just because it’s always been done one way doesn’t mean that better ideas don’t exist.
4. Innovators get scrappy. Think small. Innovators are often the ones who are willing to move quickly and be nimble. They take chances and embrace risk to gain the extra advantage over slow-moving competitors.
5. Innovators push the boundaries. Reinvent the wheel. Literally. You never know what might happen.
We all have the capacity to be creative, said Linkner. We just need to embrace risk and welcome creativity. For risk managers looking to implement innovative solutions like ERM, it is a way of thinking that could lead to real success.
