When Ben Cattaneo started the All Things Risk podcast, he very deliberately stayed away from discussing the risk management profession (which is also my day-to-day profession). This is because he wanted the show to make risk and uncertainty concepts available to everyone. He didn’t want to make a podcast by risk professionals, for risk professionals. Risk isn’t something to be the sole domain of a small group of people with their own jargon and technical language. Risk is all around each and every one of us. As my signature sign-off goes, “risk is life”.
Having said that, there is huge value in discussing the professional practice of risk management – both in terms of understanding some of the ways in which risk people think, as well as observing some of the pitfalls of the profession. This is a discussion that has relevance in our lives and our societies. However, it requires the right risk professional to have it.
This is why his guest on this episode is Alex Sidorenko. Alex is the founder and CEO of The Risk Academy. He is a Russian-born Australian who currently lives in Spain. Alex is an extraordinary guy who, as any excellent risk professional does, thinks and acts counter-intuitively. His insights on how to think about risk and where the risk profession needs to go are profound and have parallels in many other domains.
Our conversation is wide-ranging and we are sure you will enjoy it. We cover:
- Alex’s background, including moving back to Russia from Australia and applying risk management within the Russian context (and getting some great feedback);
- Decision-making in large and small organisations;
- Cognitive biases and how to overcome them;
- Where the risk profession needs to go – and parallels with other fields;
- Managing risk in our personal lives
Show notes:
- The Risk Academy: https://www.risk-academy.ru/en/
- Free risk management book: https://www.risk-academy.ru/en/download/risk-management-book/
- Alex on Twitter
- Alex on Linkedin
- On YouTube
- Article: “Why are People So Afraid of Sharks?”
- Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow
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Check out other risk management books
RISK-ACADEMY offers online courses
Informed Risk Taking
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Alex Sidorenko, known for his risk management blog http://www.riskacademy.blog, has created a 25-step program to integrate risk management into decision making, core business processes and the overall culture of the organization.
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This course gives guidance, motivation, critical information, and practical case studies to move beyond traditional risk governance, helping ensure risk management is not a stand-alone process but a change driver for business.
