Most executives understand the relationship of risk & return: In order to generate higher returns, we may need to be willing to take greater risks. Despite appreciating the connections of risk and return, organizations often struggle to explicitly integrate risk considerations in strategic planning or budgeting processes. While discussions of potential new strategic initiatives or budget requests might lead to discussions of risks, those discussions are often ad hoc and a by-product of other discussions.
There may be benefits of having business leaders articulate risk considerations as part of their development of a business plan or budget request.
This tool identifies questionsthat an organization might embed in its instructions that are provided to business unit leaders as they develop a strategic plan or budget request for their business unit.
The questions prompt business leaders to explicitly consider risk dimensions as they develop their strategic plan or budget request.