A few years ago, a risk manager called me and made what I considered to be a fairly simple request for an introduction. To whom? To any other risk managers that I might know who may be grappling with a similar challenge to the one he outlined.
As it turned out, I knew quite a few. I was able to connect a small group of like-minded professionals via email and leave them to their own devices.
I thought nothing more of it until, a week or so later, the first risk manager wrote back to thank me. Then the other risk managers also got in touch.
All of them gave me similar feedback: the connections I’d enabled were proving invaluable.
“We never find the time or the means to network with other risk managers,” they told me.
“But there’s so much knowledge we could be sharing.”
Learning from real-life experiences
That got me thinking. I’ve had the privilege of working with senior risk professionals and industry thought leaders from around the world for more than twenty years.
During this time, I’ve seen first-hand the benefits of peer networking and collaboration.
As many risk managers have told me, risk management isn’t something you can learn solely from a textbook. Good risk management is about how you adapt and apply concepts in real life, and the best way to learn this is from the experiences of others.
Yet, many risk managers spend relatively little time engaging with their peers. Why?
Time is one barrier, but more so the networking opportunities that do exist often aren’t quite fit for purpose. They may be too broad, not facilitated in the right way or sales-led.
So I started toying with the idea of creating a new, collaborative risk community. One whose agenda would be driven by the members it serves. A Risk Leadership Network with a mandate to facilitate real-life risk management learning.
The elevator pitch
Fast forward two years, and my business partner and I, along with our start-up team and advisory board, are on the cusp of launching the Risk Leadership Network – a corporate membership for risk leaders and their teams.
Backed by investment from leading B2B media entrepreneurs with experience building expert networks and Incisive Media – a multi-award winning international information and events business – the Risk Leadership Network is focused on connecting the global risk community.
I’m so proud of this project and I want to thank all the risk managers who have generously contributed their time and expertise so far, helping us conceptualise and develop our new network.
As we begin to broaden our base of valued contributors, permit me, as an enthusiastic co-founder, to conclude this blog with my elevator pitch – and if you’d like to find out more, please give me a call or drop me an email.
At the Risk Leadership Network, our mission is to make collaboration and knowledge-sharing easy, accessible and applicable. Our online platform provides deep-dive content, real-life case studies, and risk management tools and templates. It also hosts regular webinars and facilitates practical networking opportunities – both digitally and face-to-face. We’re looking for companies that share a common commitment to advancing risk management standards to join us and our founding members. Working together as a global community, we can raise the standing and maturity of risk management.
