Airbag - steering-wheel continuum

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You only need airbags if you don’t steer straight.

The “airbag - steering wheel continuum” is a management thought experiment asks: which is your containment device of choice?

Where does your risk strategy sit, on the spectrum between: “I will conduct my affairs using expert people, with sensible customers, in a prudent manner, with a view to maximising shareholder return in the long run and minimising my exposure to extreme events, even if that means foregoing short-term gains in some cases” — in the terms of this metaphor, a “steering wheel” — and “sod it, I have an ejector seat, let’s bet the house on red” — an “airbag”.

Should things not go according to plan, the likely outcome of the former is gradual, unspectacular prosperity. The likely outcome of the latter, in the best case is you write off your car, but walk away with a only a mild case of whiplash and a regulatory enema of some description.

Risk managers: if your first question, at any unexpected turn of events, is “legal, can I close out?”, you are an airbag kind of guy.

Employers: if you hire risk managers who are airbag fans, you are an airbag kind of guy.

Don’t be an airbag kind of guy.

See also

• Client communications
• Insurance