Rethinking Risk: How Companies Sabotage Themselves and What They Must Do Differently
by Joseph Kolatar. 2011. 242 pages. AMACOM. $29.95.
Most business executives are vigilant about identifying strong competitors and important technological developments, but they often fail to watch for the broader array of real-life risks, argues Joseph Koletar in Rethinking Risk. The consequences, he concludes, fill newspaper headlines: BP’s oil rig breaks and wreaks havoc on the Gulf of Mexico, Toyota must recall hundreds of cars due to faulty brakes, and 9 million Mattel toys made in China are found to be laced with lead paint.
Koletar, who directed the fraud investigations of Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, argues that the mistake that BP, Toyota, and other leaders in these and similar incidents made was not greed or carelessness, but rather a failure to plan ahead and avert the approaching danger. Most disasters are preventable, he says, but the leadership has to be aware and pay attention to the information at the ground level.
Koletar presents action strategies for business and organization leaders who want to raise their own foresight and keep their operations safe over the long term. Through examples of businesses that did not watch for risks, he teaches lessons on risk analysis, employee training, accountability, organizational intelligence, and the risk mechanisms that a business can put in place to stay aware and secure. Rethinking Risk is a guide that leaders in any industry or sector may want to consult.
Like us on Facebook
WorldFutureSoc on Twitter