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Risk Management is a Lifestyle: Lessons from the FBINAA Conference

By Michael Sale

It has been more than six months since I fell off that ladder. My broken rib has healed, all the bruising is gone, and most parts seem to work again, although I’m not so sure about the future of my knees. I’m back in the gym, at least twice a week, and my trainer says my state of fitness is in the top 5% of my age category.

I have had a lot of time to think about what I did, or did wrong. I know I broke at least three basic ladder rules on that occasion, after a lifetime of confidently scrambling up and down ladders in all kinds of situations. I had never fallen before. Come to think of it, I think there would have been a lot less blood if I’d retracted the razor knife before the ladder slipped.

Gordon Graham speaks with a delegate after his presentation at the 2012 FBINAA Conference

Recently, while attending the annual conference of the FBI National Academy Associates, I sat through my fifth presentation by Gordon Graham, law enforcement’s leading expert on risk management. Even though Gordon was addressing a group of police leaders, I found that the central theme of his messages applied directly to my misadventure with the ladder.  I realize, now, that risk management should be a way of life and not something we simply apply to our professional responsibilities.

Gordon likes to refer to Webster’s definition of risk management: Any activity that involves the evaluation of or comparison of risks and the development, selection and implementation of control measures that change outcomes. 

He prefers to simplify that definition: Risk management is the process of looking into the future (short or long term) and asking what can go wrong and then doing something about it to prevent it from going wrong.

With more than four decades of related experience in his field, Gordon Graham convinces audiences everywhere that identifiable risks are manageable risks. He has dedicated his professional life to helping others find ways of minimizing risk to protect people and organizations from pain and other grievous consequences that can be suffered when a tragedy, which could have been prevented/avoided, occurs.

Gordon is not a fan of the “status quo” or that notion that “we’ve always done it this way.” We need to look at the way we do things and apply effective analyses to determine whether or not there are risks lurking within our everyday lives and activities. To do this properly, Graham insists sound policies need to be developed and used to ensure that tasks are managed properly, in keeping with accepted standards and exceptional training, where necessary. Risk management leadership requires a continuous scanning of the environment for risky situations, and the creation and sound delivery of appropriate policy and regular practice so that preventative behaviors become second nature to any task.

Gordon Graham’s career with the California Highway Patrol is legendary, but that experience is but one part of a life in which he has studied all aspects of risk management and tragedy. Today, he serves as the president of Lexipol (from Latin meaning public safety policy) where he continues to share his message with the public-safety community. He is an inspiration to anyone serving, or having served, in the field of law enforcement and related professions. Every leader, especially those in public service, could benefit from a “tune-up” with Gordon Graham once or twice a year.

I was pleased to learn that Gordon Graham, Lexipol and the FBI National Academy Associates are about to establish a relationship that will provide new programs and support for law enforcement leaders so they can realize their potential, with fewer set-backs, by applying risk-management approaches to everything they do.

In my household, we have a new ladder policy. I used it recently when I climbed that same ladder, in the very same place, to complete that job that caused me to be there last winter. I involved a partner/lookout, tied off the ladder, used a tool belt to free up my hands, and did not over-extend myself. The task took a few minutes longer, but I survived and, a few days later, was able to travel to Grapevine, Texas, to see Gordon Graham.

Leischen Kranick is a Managing Editor at AMU Edge. She has 15 years of experience writing articles and producing podcasts on topics relevant to law enforcement, fire services, emergency management, private security, and national security.

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