Living in the What If: Managing Risk in 2020

Cindi Burleson, director of the Center for Insurance & Risk Management

When I was a risk manager there were times I sat with the executive team planning for the future and an idea would be presented that prompted many “what if” questions. A lot of heads would shake and, occasionally some would ask, “Do you have to be in the room?”

Here are some of those questions:

  • What if our servers completely crash and we can’t operate for a time?
  • What if there is a market crash and our investments take a hit that requires months, or even years, to reach a recovery point
  • What if hiring practices we’re considering lead to disgruntled workers?
  • What if there is a pandemic that results in our business being shut down for a long time — for instance, one to six months or longer?

These questions were asked to determine how the company would respond to potential business-disrupting situations. These are low-frequency occurrences that would have a high impact. And this is exactly where many businesses are living today.

Read more at ArkansasBusiness.com.