DENVER—When RIMS keynote speaker Bonnie St. John was five years old her right leg was amputated below the knee because of a medical condition. For most people, it would have been a devastating disability, but St.John was not most people. Instead she became, of all things, a competitive skier. As a member of the 1984 U.S. Paralympic team, she was the first African-American to win an Olympic medal as a ski racer, taking home bronzes for slalom and giant slalom and a silver for overall performance. In effect, she said that made her the second fastest woman on one leg that year.
It was an impressive achievement to say the least and her thoughts on the experience were even featured on a Starbucks cup that read, “I was ahead in the slalom.
But in the second run, everyone fell on a dangerous spot.
I was beaten by a woman that got up faster than I did. I learned that people fall down, winners get up, and gold medal winners just get up faster.”
St. John said that, for her, a normal life wasn’t an option, but “normal is overrated.” Rather, she challenged risk managers in the audience to follow her example and aim higher in their careers. “Be you,” she said. “Be extraordinary.”
St. John expressed a lot of admiration for risk management’s ability to prevent disasters, thanking them for all the things that didn’t happen last year. But after reviewing a list of the past year’s risk events, understandably wondered if risk managers were just “incredible pessimists” given all the bad things they have to deal with. Upon further reflection, though, she said she came to the fitting conclusion that risk managers “practice a special brand of optimistic pessimism.” They know bad things will happen but they are also confident that they can take steps to prevent disaster, which seems to be as accurate a description of a risk manager’s mentality as any I’ve ever heard.
But as valuable as she thought risk managers were, St. John thought that there was still room for them to become world class by taking advantage of expertise of their peers, something she called a “community of champions.” By becoming more “helpable” and receptive to learning and growth opportunities, risk managers could achieve even greater success. “What’s possible for you is more than you can imagine.”
Coming from a one-legged ski champion, it was a lesson that was hard to ignore.