Embedding risk management into decision making

It’s official. We live in uncertain times.

Just pick up today’s paper and the headlines are screaming with news that constantly remind us that we are living uncertain times – economic instability, pandemic, corporate restructures, etc.

Uncertainty can be uncomfortable, but inevitable

Throughout our lives, the fear of the unknown can keep us from taking the actions to move us forward.

The reality is that in our fast-changing, unpredictable and accelerated workplace and the world, it’s those who are willing to embrace uncertainty and take decisive action, risky action, despite the many unknowns who will reap the greatest rewards.

Human beings are wired to want to control our environment.

Let’s face it, it’s a natural human instinct to strive for familiarity when something feels uncertain or not known.

Your brain is hardwired to protect you from risk and danger. You often discard an idea in favour of something that feels familiar, safer.

But if you continually avoid the ‘what ifs’, it can dramatically affect your capacity to innovate and to grow. Not to mention, it can erode your ability to succeed in today’s fast-moving world.

So, what might be possible if you moved beyond the known zone and embrace uncertainty?

This is no easy feat to overcome. You are human, after all.

But I can offer a practical decision-making framework that can help you make decisions under uncertainty.

Making decisions under uncertainty

Various internet sources estimate that an adult makes up to 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day – What to eat? What career will I pursue? Where to invest my savings? What marketing strategy to adopt? Who to hire?

Each choice carries certain consequences – good and bad. This ability to choose is an incredible and exciting power that has been entrusted to you by your Creator.

Choices compound. These accumulated choices all work together over a lifetime to take you to various outcomes.

If you are a manager or leader, your decisions will interact with the choices and actions of other people. Your leadership decisions create a ripple effect for spouses, families, teams, business units, organisations, communities, states, nations and even the world-at-large.

Practical approaches to making informed decisions

This is where the PrOACT decision-making framework.

The structured framework contains the following elements:

  1. Find the right problem to start with.
  2. Identify your real objectives.
  3. Create a range of alternatives tailored to your problem and objectives.
  4. Understand the