RisikoBRIEFing - January 2011
… is not only the title of my new book which is being published in March by the ECON publishing house in Berlin. In very practical terms risk intelligence also describes our ability to arrive at adequate and creative solutions for our actions and decisions in high-risk, in other words, non-transparent, situations.
Risk intelligence does not entail remedies along the lines of “simplify your life“. As we are all too well aware it is usually the case that their opposites are equally wrong. “Be complicated“, for example, might furnish us with superior solutions in one situation or another. On the other hand, it might not.
Thus, what is involved is not simplifications and remedies which we wish to implement here and there and which most certainly may be of assistance. I am concerned with an integrated process which, although functioning differently in your case than in mine or that of our neighbours, invariably generates one effect: a clever solution to the problem with which we are currently faced.
See the following two texts in this regard: on the one hand, a brief self-coaching session which may enable you to gain an insight into your personal risk-handling approach and, on the other, a text on the background to the book. What was it exactly that induced me to write this book?
Life is not for heroes – we have already established that this is an inadequate solution. But it is also not for the craven! It is intended that how risk intelligence can lend us a helping hand in this regard should accompany you upon your journey through these pages in the next few months ahead. Just wait and see!
Your
Brigitte Witzer
Contents:
RISK INTELLIGENCE SELF-COACHING:
Handling risks in your own life.
MY MOTIVES:
What induced me to write a book on risk intelligence.
Handling risks in your own life.
What is the situation in your private life when it comes to handling risks? Pick up a pen and answer the questions. (Do it, really! It does make a difference! You will then see where you stand through completely different eyes.)
| Quality A | ++ | + | 0 | + | ++ | Quality B | |
| How high-risk do you consider that your life to date has been? | Low-risk | High-risk | |||||
| How satisfied are you with your life to date? | Dissatified | Very satisfied | |||||
| How do you rate your own willingness to handle risks? | It barely exists | It is pronounced | |||||
| How do you react to reports of disasters in the media? | Defensively | With interest | |||||
| How do you handle everyday risks in your personal environment? | I keep my distance | I offer support |
What induced me to write a book on risk intelligence.
During my activities as a coach I have repeatedly been encountering a vicious circle over the course of the last few years: I have gained the impression that while, on the one hand, a great deal of radical change is afoot in the business community and society at large and that people wish to act along clear and authentic lines, on the other they are confronted with the effects of “more of the wrong medicine”.
More of the wrong medicine, for instance, in the field of man-management: thus, for example, at groups of affiliated companies I am continually seeing management tasks of relevance to corporate success being allocated to people who, on the one hand, market themselves well and, on the other, are oriented solely towards power and the assertion of personal interests. Some of them perform central roles while being wholly bereft of any aspiration or the ability to manage themselves, let alone others.
What renders executive boards blind to people who – in a motivated and responsible fashion – wish to contribute to their company? What, for instance, induces Pisa to “survey“ pupils without examining the competence of teachers? These and similar problems have been exercising my mind over the course of the last few years.
I became continually more clear-sighted in the face of pairs of opposites one side of which I could see and an absent side to which I considered to be necessary. Thus, for example, in the field of management talk still predominates over action, in other words: it is sufficient to be familiar with the vocabulary of management – management itself is not necessary.
These problems constitute a major burden and can darken the mood of all clear-thinking people. Pen a book on the subject? Heaven forbid! I did undertake several attempts, but I failed to make any progress. Fortunately. Reiterating what is already common knowledge is most definitely not a task to savour. On the contrary: it is rather the case that I wished to outline the factors, skills and processes which, on the one hand, lead to a situation in which people keep themselves to themselves (and simply refrain from merely talking the talk rather than walking the walk) and, on the other, can achieve lasting success.
The term risk intelligence reared its head in the debate surrounding precisely these issues, issues which are in urgent need of discussion for the business community and society at large. The time has now arrived: the book was a joy to pen and it is appearing on the market in March. I await your reactions with baited breath!