Thomas M. Bragg on Business Risk Management

I was working on my next post – 3 Categories of Risk – but got sidetracked by Naomi Dunford’s latest . It got me thinking. In my first post, I pledged the following;

I commit to do my best to engage you and be engaged. I will strive to earn your trust and trust you. I will endeavor to write things that you may want to pass along and discuss with others.

After reading Naomi’s post and all the comments, I realized that I’m not doing a very good job at living up to my commitment. Sure, I’m covering the subject matter in a very businesslike manner. But, if I want to engage you and earn your trust there needs to be more sharing - more than the bio, more than the LinkedIn profile and more than an occasional tweet…

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So what’s in it for me? Why am I bothering with writing a blog? There’s no advertising. I’m not soliciting consulting gigs or peddling the next great risk management toolset. What’s the motivation?

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The short answer is “I want to help.” (and I know your collective eyes are rolling with a smirk..) I truly believe that a majority of problems faced by businesses can be avoided or at least minimized with some basic risk management. The problem is that many business owners/managers a) don’t think about risk management; b) don’t care about risk management; c) don’t have time for risk management; or d) some combination of a), b) and c).

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I want to change that. I have developed a method that is simple, practical and effective. It just needs to be evangelized and taught. That’s why the blog is here and that’s why I started a Twitter account. In time, I hope to complement both with speaking opportunities and articles.

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Eventually, the book I’m finishing will show up here. Again, the primary purpose of the book isn’t to generate revenue (although it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see a little return on the effort invested). I think there is a need for a straight-forward “how to” book that small business owners can read, understand and implement quickly. I am going to address that need.

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So what’s in it for me? I see an opportunity to provide a positive influence to the “long tail” of businesses and make a real difference in the world. Call me an optimist or naive – probably true on both counts – but I think we can do it.

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You’ve stuck with it and read the whole post. So let me ask you.. What’s in it for you?