Are You Risk Fit?

“The greatest risk to us is actually us.” – General Stanley McChrystal

There is no meaningful disruption or growth without risk. Risk is an element that is naturally embedded into the S Curve of Learning?. If you’ve been a reader for a while, you can recall countless stories of individuals who have disrupted themselves, their organizations, and the world. Not one of those stories is without elements of risk. So how do we manage risk? Or, to go further, how do we use it to our advantage??

In the most recent Disrupt Yourself podcast, I interviewed General Stanley McChrystal, a retired four-star U.S Army general. In addition to being a decorated Army veteran and the former commander of an enormous contingent of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, he’s also the author of several books, including his most recent book, Risk: A User's Guide.? Our conversation explored risk and how it can be a powerful tool for disruption, not something to avoid and resist.?

Focus on what you can control. The most significant risks are internal, yet we are hardwired to look for external threats. General McChrystal referenced a recent survey of CEOs asking the leaders, “What are the risks you worry about?” In their responses, they all listed external risks. Yet, if you look at a list of companies that have failed, every one of them failed for internal reasons.?

While we tend to invest time and energy in preparing and predicting the future, we would be better suited focusing on what we can control, such as our ability to make ourselves and our organizations more resilient.?

General McChrystal used the example of a powerful and elite counter-terrorist force in the United States called Joint Special Operations Command, J-SOC. In the early 2000s, they faced an organization called Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Qaeda posed a problem they’d never encountered before – they were bigger, more dangerous, and more lethal, with very different characteristics than any other terrorist threat. The initial response was to figure Al-Qaida out, to understand what makes them tick. In that process, General McChrystal realized not only was there an external threat, but there was also an internal challenge in how J-SOC operated. He reflected, “We had formed an organization that was purpose-built to solve a problem that had changed. We were comfortable, almost arrogant, in our process and capabilities inside our organization. But the problem was becoming us.” The internal risk was the inhibiting factor, not the external one.

Think about internal and external threats in the context of your body’s immune system. In partnership with a Yale immunologist, General McChrystal began to think about the human immune system like a counterinsurgency. If your immune system is healthy, you can fight off various viruses. If a nation’s immune system is healthy, it can effectively respond to several different threats. When the internal system is down, you cannot fight off the external threats. We cannot avoid or predict external risks, but we do have the capacity to detect and assess them and respond in appropriate ways.?

Similarly, organizations have the same need for a healthy risk immune system. General McChrystal calls the focus on the internal organization making your organization “risk fit.”??

How strong is your organization’s immune system? Are you risk fit?

Communication. Of the ten risk control factors General McChrystal identifies in his book, he cites communication as the most important. If an organization cannot communicate, it cannot coordinate. There are four key factors to effective risk control communication. First, can you communicate? Second, will you communicate? Third, what is the quality of that information? Is it accurate and relevant? And finally, will you receive communication from others?

Consider your team. How does your communication stack up in those four areas?

The last risk control takeaway I want to pose aligns with one of the seven Accelerants of Disruption?, Accelerant # 5 Step back to grow. In moments of crisis or high stress, your decision-making effectiveness does not improve if you’re more emotional. Instead of reacting immediately, take a step back. Evaluate the situation, your role, and the decisions you need to make. Zoom out and ask yourself, “Whom do I want to be at this moment?” Emotional regulation lowers risk.?

What did you do the last time you were in a high-stress situation? Did you step back??

Whether in combat or business, risk is unavoidable. Attempting to predict risk can be futile. To manage risk, focus on strengthening the internal workings of your organization or yourself. Resilient individuals and companies can weather storms and capitalize on opportunities.