Customer Reviews

A Short Guide to Facilitating Risk Management (Short Guides to Business Risk)

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Having worked in Risk Management for a number of years and also as a Project Manager, it has always been easy to pay lip service to Risk Management. Something to get out of the way so you can concentrate on the real tasks at hand. I have always had a pretty good risk process to work from and sometimes some unwilling stakeholders to take part, but the process made the whole exercise of identifying, validating and managing risk a dry subject. On top of this you were still left with the task of drawing risks out of peoples heads when sometimes they did not realise they have the risk in their heads in the first place. Facilitation has always been the key to that, but not everyone has the talents or ability to facilitate a room of 2 to 2000 people. "Facilitating Risk Management" goes a long long way in supporting the facilitator. If you need to facilitate any type of risk workshop whether it be in a meeting room or virtually, the decision to buy this book is a no brainer. I have attended seminars where Penny Pullan or Ruth Murray-Webster have given their time to support Project Managers in making meetings effective and Risk Management, respectively. Their track record goes before them as well as behind them, so this book was always going to be a natural evetuality. Congratulations.

A much needed topic, covered in a practical, no-nonsense style. As a `short guide to', it doesn't go into the depths of risk behaviour or a full description of workshop tools, however it does give sound advice on the most important issues in facilitating risk processes. It's a good length too - I read it on a flight in a couple of hours cover to cover, which is a sign that it isn't `padded out' as many business books are. If you lead risk workshops or manage risk as a responsibility, I'd recommend spending this time on it to reduce the risk of your risk workshops not working!

Penny Pullan and Ruth Murray-Webster's `A Short Guide to Facilitating Risk Management' fits into a series of Short Guides about risk published by Gower. The series currently includes books that address Customs Risk and Political Risk, with further volumes addressing Equality Risk and Operational Risk in production. These short guides, at around 150 pages, provide an introduction and awareness for the reader, though do not make any claims to be able to make the reader an expert.

A Short Guide to Facilitating Risk Management takes as its theme the principle that risk is managed by people, not by processes or techniques; and that the people managing the risks are not generally `risk management professionals', so therefore need guiding, enthusing, and supporting, by a facilitator who combines a comprehensive understanding of risk and risk management with the people-skills necessary to make it easy to manage risk effectively. It is observed that risk management frequently fails to deliver value or the required support to decision making in risky situations, due to its over-emphasis on the use of tools and processes, and its failure to engage people.

The processes of risk management are described by a discussion of the nature of risk, its importance within the context of a business, and the factors that affect prioritisation and response to risk. Differing approaches to risk response and the need for ownership and accountability for risk management activities are covered. The treatment of risk management process is kept at quite high level, to avoid discussion of the detail from detracting from the theme of the book as a guide to facilitation, not to risk management per se.

The description of the qualities required of a facilitator is particularly insightful, providing detail and guidance for getting the best from teams of people, dealing with differing cultures, sustaining enthusiasm and participation of all group members, encouraging the `right' sort of conflict to guide groups to deliver value. The stress on the facilitator being detached from the risks and response actions, focussing their responsibility on facilitating the process, is especially interesting as many project and programme managers find themselves charged with responsibility for managing both the process and the risks on their projects.

Facilitation of workshops is just one aspect of facilitating risk management; the use of large groups in workshops, small groups, and one-to-one sessions is described, identifying where each approach is likely to be most successful. The authors share their experiences of what works well, and provide a whole chapter devoted to recognising and addressing problems and challenges that arise from the risk management process, from facilitating, and from the culture of the organisation and its people.

The book makes a compelling case for the role of a risk management facilitator, to ease the operation of risk management processes by enthusing and engaging people, and by maintaining continued ownership and accountability until the risks have been closed.

Years ago as a personnel manager I was asked to facilitate a risk assessment session for an engineering project. This book would have turned my well intentioned effort into a well prepared, specifically designed workshop with the follow up anticipated before the start.
It is easy to read and illustrated with lots of examples of what to do and how. The thinking takes inspiration from some of the great wisdom in graphic facilitation and team performance, such as David Sibbert. It assumes that people have the relevant information and resource to understand and assess risk and that this is best done in a group setting. However, working with a group is most effective when there is a well prepared process to follow and some support for the discussion as it is taking place. My single criticism is that its sets out an overview of risk management standards but not a reflection of what people in organisations are actually doing with those standards - is the practice genarlly poorly run workshops or unstructured huddles? Where is the good practice?
There is no doubt though that this book will play a part in developing good practice in this area amongst people who are willing to have a go and need some practical guidance.
It is one of those books that de-bunks facilitation as one of those tasks that any of us can do well with some help and preparation.

The book's title makes it sound as if it addresses a very specific niche, but actually it will be useful to anyone who is engaged in trying to make a project or plan work.

The section on "Potential Pitfalls and How to Overcome Them" in particular is a masterpiece of concision and common sense.