2023 Risk in Review

It’s beginning to look a lot like the end of the year.

So I decided to do a 2023 year in risk review. This year was meant to be a transition year out of COVID (after 2022 failed to deliver, instead going down in history as the third pandemic year).

This year did transition us to a strange post-COVID world, but not before it hammered us with even more unexpected chaos and consequential crises. What a year it has been for risk managers around the globe.

This year in risk review is an ode to the risk managers at the frontlines. I also pay homage to the genius of Billy Joel, who captured zeitgeists over 40 years in his 1989 classic “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (for those who need an introduction, here’s the original video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g).

This year feels like we’ve crammed 40 years into 12 months. I’ve updated the lyrics with notable 2023 people and events, but kept Billy Joel’s genius in most of the song.

Here’s to all risk managers out there: whip out your mic and cue up the karaoke machine. This one’s for you.

To the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel:

Harry’s Spare, Djokovic, Sabalenka, TikTok

Spy balloons, Instagramming influencer Joes

Turkey has a big quake, food chains, global chains

European energy, Ukraine is at war

Taylor Swift Eras Tour, Everything, Everywhere

All at Once gets top prize, Donald Trump caught in a lie

COVID-19 Vaccine, England's got a new king

China, India, Indonesia, and the US, big guys

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Hollywood goes on strike, COVID de-prioritized

Titan sinks, dives too deep, on the sea floor

Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Vivek

Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Tim Scott exit out

Barbie and Just Ken, Oppenheimer, Barbenheimer?

Inflation, shrinkflation, Donald’s on the stand again

Housing crisis, Twitter crisis, Twitter is now X

Pee Wee H, Tony B, trouble for the Jew-ish

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Women’s sports, Sam Kerr, FIFA on the world stage

Jenni and Luis, La Furia Roja roars

“Shake It Off”, “Anti-Hero”, “You Belong With Me” sweep

Maui village is on fire, sorry for thalidomide

Summer burns, heat waves, record-breaking temp highs?

Real estate, shadow banks, China homes a no-go

Taylor Swift economics, Biden on the picket line

Writers’ Guild good to go, Wagner’s in the Congo

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Israel, Gaza Strip, turmoil in the Middle East

Tunnel terror, hostage terror, hospital attack

Taylor Swift tours again, Beatlemania Now and Then

Binyamin Netanyahu, Yehiya Sinwar,?

Joe Biden, Rishi, Xi, Modi and Volodymyr

Matthew Perry goes away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Sam Altman booted out, Sam Altman back again

Other Sam, Bankman-Fried, guilty cryptocurrency

OpenAI, Google, battle of the AIs

GPT chat with me, Azure, Bard, Gemini

COP two-eight in Dubai, fossil fuels for the ride

COVID waves here to stay, cyber hacks, opioids

Gun control lost control, Voice silenced, voted down

Russia, Ukraine still at war, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

But when we are gone

It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

*****

Original We Didn’t Start the Fire lyrics ? Joelsongs