Risk, Captain Kirk, and good governance
‘… I must point out that the possibilities, the potential for knowledge and advancement is equally great. Risk. Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about’[1].
Captain James Tiberius Kirk, starship USS Enterprise
Captain Kirk, at the end of talking with his team, closes by saying ‘they could dissent without prejudice[2]’
So where are the risks?
At project initiation and during delivery we need to assess and regularly review risks. We can identify those that are less likely to occur based on our experience and ask of the project team their views. Yet is the biggest risk a cultural one?
In a BBC News article published in September 2017 about Northern Rock[3], Gary Hoffman who was brought in as Chief Executive of Northern Rock says:
"The management had completely lost touch with the coal face, and did not know what was happening. There was an attitude that you did not question what was going on, which was a tragedy because there were extremely good people at the bank."
The content of the programme or project risk register needs to represent reality, not contain a list of shallow, trite, superficial items that add no substance and are without gravitas. To do this may require the asking of difficult questions, and for those asking the questions to be confident they can do so without fear of retribution or blame from those who now need to listen. They will require the support of the Programme Executive or the Project Executive, who themselves will be working within the culture of the organisation[4].
Conclusion
As project professionals, by understanding the corporate culture, we can assess the project risks in a wider context: working with the Project Board to create an environment in which it is acceptable for individuals to raise their views on potential risks, to be able to comment, as Captain Kirk notes ‘without prejudice’. By doing so we are reducing the chance of failure. Risks can be expected, considered, identified, understood, managed and mitigated.
The project team will have a more realistic assessment of the challenges ahead and greater confidence in the plans for successful delivery.
[1] Star Trek, TV Series, Return to Tomorrow (1968) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708445/quotes.
[2] ibid
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41229513
[4] For details on risks, culture and more information see Corporate Culture and the Role of Boards, Report of Observations, The Financial Reporting Council, 2016, page 26
John Chapman is Programme Director for Touchstone FMS http://www.TouchstoneFMS.co.uk/ His twitter is http://twitter.com/chapmanjs. An experienced Programme Director, Programme Manager, Project Director and Project Manager; having led Programmes of business change, implemented Financial Accounting Systems, Spend Control systems, and Document Management solutions International Project implementation experience, with a good understanding of the challenges of working with different cultures, and the logistics of international project delivery. Publications include: Author of a. Your Project Needs You, b. Kafka, Pulp Fiction, Beer and Projects, c. ‘Project and Programme Accounting, a practical guide for Professional Service Organisations and IT’ published by Project Manager Today Publications. d. Member of the authoring group of the Gower Handbook of Programme Management 1st Edition. e. An acknowledged contributor to Managing Successful Programmes, 1st Edition and the APM Introduction to Programme Management 1st edition. The author of a range of educational video podcasts which are published at youtube.com/user/TheProgrammeDirector. He is Communications Lead for APM Programme Management Specific Interest Group (www.apm.org.uk/progm)
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