An introduction to risk management concepts for future outdoor leaders. It serves up metaphors and poses suitable questions for other forms of risk management.

1. AN INTRODUCTION TO
RISK
What It Is & Managing It

2. Session Outcomes
By the end of the session participants
will have:
 Recorded an event in their lives that
involved risk
 Decided if that risk was real or a
feeling
 Contemplated risk & managing it
 Been involved in a metaphor of risk
management

3. Definitions of Adventure
 A risky undertaking, or a
remarkable and exiting
experience.
www.nps.gov/mana/
education/vocab.htm

4. Definitions of Adventure
 The feelings that you gain from an
uncertain outcome.
Wil Rickards

5. Something to think about
 Recollect and reflect on your most
memorable adventure. Jot down some
notes. (1 minute)
 Compare it with a lesser adventure. (1
minute)
 Was there more or less risk?
 Find a partner and compare notes (3
minutes)
 Group consensus
 More or less risk? (2 minutes)

6. Risk & Adventure
 By definition:
 There has to be some risk in adventure
and it could be argued that there needs to
be a considerable amount.

7. The Questions then become
 What can you risk?
 What types of risk are there?
 What is risk?

8. Something to think about
 Find a partner – tell a story of
something you have risked. (2
minutes each)
 Synopsis of the stories. (3 minutes)
 Can we answer the questions yet?

9. Something to think about
 We have seen a definition where
adventure is a feeling.
 Is risk a feeling or something
tangible?
 In pairs see if you can describe a
personal event when risk was a feeling
and an event when it was tangible. (5
minutes)
 Group discussion. (5 minutes)

10. Same Questions
 What can you risk?
 What types of risk are there?
 What is risk?

11. Risk is an integral part of taking
groups into an outdoor setting.
 Includes:
 Psychological,
 Emotional,
 Physical,
 Social or
 Financial
 The aim of a leader
is to manage and
minimize risk and
limit accidents to a
level associated with
everyday living.

12. Risk can be divided into:
 Real, where participants
could be injured: e.g.
rockfall, river crossing,
etc.

13. Risk can be divided into:
 Perceived, which is an
individual's subjective
assessment of the real
risk present at any one
time
• All activities have a level
of risk but different
people will have a
different perception of
what that level is.

14. Industry perspective:
 Risk is:
 “Exposure to the chance of injury or
loss.” The injury / loss can be
physical, emotional or financial in
nature.
AOEE Policies and Procedures Manual

15. Aim is often high levels of perceived
risk & minimized real risk
• To ensure that the
activity is a safe yet
challenging and
enriching personal
experience, the level
and type of risk must
be managed
appropriately.

16. Risk of Gain vs. Risk of Loss
 A balancing act
 Any real risk has to
have real benefits.
 If by removing the
risk you remove the
purpose, what is the
point?

17. Some Concepts of Risk
 The following are ideas that you need to
wrap your head around and plan for
accordingly.

18. Some People are Lucky

19. Some People are Unlucky

20. Poo Happens!

21. Systems Are Worth While
"For crying out loud, I was hibernating!...
Don't you guys ever take a pulse?"

22. Risk Management is More Than
A Manual

23. Questions You Can Ask
Yourself?
Am I?:

24. In the right place

25. At the right time

26. With the right equipment

27. With the right people.

28. Is There A Reason For What I Am
Doing?

29. What Is The Likelihood?

30. What Is The Consequence?

31. And Remember

32. Poker
 Have four people play some hands of
poker. $10 buys you in.
 How did the players approach the risk?
 What strategies did they employ?
 Did they have the same:
 Skill
 Luck
 Strategies
 What affected the strategies they used?

33. Poker & Risk Management
 In many ways Poker serves as a good
metaphor for Risk Management.
 What metaphors did you see?
 What metaphor did returning the cash
intact at the end serve as?