During November 2019, some of South Africa’s top leaders (governing body members, executives, risk leaders) of listed and unlisted private entities as well as public sector organisations, were asked to share their experiences of how risks and opportunities are managed by them and/or others. The results from the 81 leaders that participated provide an eye-opening glimpse into the intuitive working of risk management.

The enquiry was to understand how people perceived the management of risk in the real world, based on actual their experiences inside and outside the boardroom. To explore this, the project looked at actual stories – retellings of experiences – with positive or negative outcomes. Stories can be considered as “warm data” (Nora Bateson); they encapsulate our emotional and embodied response to what happened. Given that our perceptions and decision-making make use of embodied, emotional, and rational processes, stories provide a better insight into the environment we operate in than does a traditional survey.

“By responding to these stories with the insights in this year’s IRMSA report we can influence that landscape and the stories that will be told in the future.” – Sonja Blignaut & Robert Koch

Client: IRMSA

Location: South Africa

Report: https://files.irmsa-techlibrary.org.za/riskreport2020/