Transform Your Risk Report by Adding Qualitative Information.
A lot of people who receive your risk report never read it. Here is a simple fix: Add narrative, qualitative information. Years ago, a client asked me to attend his firm’s corporate board meeting. I got a front row seat for how one closely-held...
How To Start A New Risk Management Job
You finally did it! You landed that senior risk management position at a fabulous firm. The job search took a while, and the vetting was intense. But you made the cut. They chose you! A bigger challenge is yet to come. Starting a new job is exciting. It can also be a...
A Revelation
I have written about it before, and I am sure I will write about it again. … how financial risks that devastate firms aren’t random occurrences, as if the gods on Olympus toss dice to determine a company’s fate. No. There are causes. And these are usually...
Fooled By Black Swans
Imagine you are presenting to the board about risk management. The presentation is going well, and you are about to finish up when a board member stirs. He hasn’t said a word the entire meeting, so this is his chance to look smart. He asks “What are you...
What Exactly is an Infinitesimal?
During the 1800s, mathematicians, and especially Cauchy, finally got around to rigorizing calculus. They got rid of the “infinitesimal” business once and for all, replacing infinitesimals with limits. It is troubling how widespread misunderstanding of calculus is 150 years later. Instead of understanding calculus from Cauchy’s rigorous standpoint, people embrace a hodge-podge of infinitesimals AND limits.