A risk management reminder for the holidays. I saw this posted in social media and had to share. Doesn’t sound like rock n roll risk management to me, but still funny:

Please be advised that anyone planning to dash through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh, going over the fields and laughing all the way are required to undergo a Risk Assessment addressing the safety of open sleighs.

This assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly where there are multiple passengers.

Please note that permission must also be obtained in writing from landowners before their fields may be entered.

To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we request that laughter is moderate and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.

Benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available for collection by any shepherds planning or required to watch their flocks at night.

Whilst provision has also been made for remote monitoring of flocks by CCTV cameras from a centrally heated shepherd observation hut, all facility users are reminded that an emergency response plan must be submitted to account for known risks to the flocks.

The angel of the Lord is additionally reminded that prior to shining his/her glory all around s/he must confirm that all shepherds are wearing appropriate Personal Protective Equipment to account for the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and the overwhelming effects of Glory. Also the angel must remain 50m from any building, vehicle or person. If the angel is less than 50m from the manger then an Operational Safety Case must be submitted 30 days prior the shining.

Following last year’s well publicised case, everyone is advised that EC legislation prohibits any comment with regard to the redness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer.

Further to this, exclusion of Mr. R Reindeer from reindeer games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence.

Whilst it is acknowledged that gift-bearing is commonly practised in various parts of the world, particularly the Orient, everyone is reminded that the bearing of gifts is subject to Hospitality Guidelines and all gifts must be registered and logged. This applies regardless of the individual, even royal personages. It is particularly noted that direct gifts of currency or gold are specifically precluded under provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Furthermore, caution is advised regarding other common gifts, such as aromatic resins that may initiate allergic reactions.

Finally, in the recent case of the infant found tucked up in a manger without any crib for a bed, Social Services have been advised and will be arriving shortly.

Merry Christmas,

Risk Management Team

Let’s not take the fun out of the holidays by trying to manage risk in the traditional way. Instead let’s practice rock n roll risk management and rock around the Christmas tree.

Medical error is the 3rd leading cause of death in the US. Why do medical errors kill over 250,000 people a year? Because healthcare has become so complex, with things like the adverse drug interactions of taking multiple medications, that it’s easy to make mistakes.

When things are complex the likelihood of making a mistake is much greater.

The more complex we make Risk Management, the more likely we make mistakes. Risk Management doesn’t have to be complex. In fact you can even manage risk with something as simple as M&Ms.

Van Halen used M&Ms as a way to ensure each concert venue was set up to their specification.

Within their contract they requested a bowl of M&Ms for the dressing room, with all of the brown M&Ms removed. This required the concert producer to read the entire Contract, since it was buried in the middle, and have people physically had to remove all the brown M&Ms from the bowl. when the band got to the dressing room they would check to see if there were any brown M&Ms. if they found brown M&Ms they would make a big scene by trashing the dressing room.

Now this request of no brown M&Ms wasn’t because they were prima donnas, but instead helped ensure a great concert for the fans and protect the safety of the band.

In one instance the producer caused about half a million dollars of damage to an arena because they didn’t properly reinforce the floor for the weight of the stage. It was unsafe for the band to perform under that situation and how did they know before they took the stage? Brown M&Ms in the dressing room.

Instead of being so concerned with details, and making things so complex, we need to take the lead of Van Halen and keep it simple.

We manage risk better without all the complexity that can lead to simple errors.

To get the full back story directly from David Lee Roth, check out this video:

Brown M&Ms from Van Halen on Vimeo.

Risk management doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, the more fun we make it, the more effective it can be.

I’m sure you have flown on a plan before and have heard the same boring safety demonstration at the beginning of the flight. Most people “tune out” and don’t really listen. Here is another example of how Southwest Airlines allows their flight attendants to have fun with the safety announcement. I have seen many examples like this, which tells me Southwest Airlines is consistent in doing it the right way.

Not only is it fun, but it is much more effective. People actually pay attention, which is really the bigger picture reason for “why” the airlines are required to give safety demonstrations before each flight. When we are boring, we risk having people “tune out” and harm the risk management process, designed to help managers make risk informed decisions.

It’s time to break out of the boring “reaction management” cycle so many organizations practice and start rocking risk management. People ignore boring, but they can’t ignore “Rock Stars.”

Start becoming a Rock Star in your life and career by thinking differently about risk management and help managers make risk informed decisions that directly link to helping them achieve their objectives.

If you don’t start making changes, you will continue to be “tuned out” by the executives and managers in your organization.

You can watch the safety demonstration video below, and see a post by InspireMore with some additional details about this special flight attendant.

Passengers Hear Safety Info & Start Cracking Up When Flight Attendant Takes Mic.

#rocknrollriskmanagement #riskmanagement #risk #southwestairlines