Appropriately so, you can’t turn anywhere without being confronted by this new threat to our personal well being as well as to our economic well being. We are being advised by the CDC, our state and local governments and our industry trade groups to do all we can to contain the spread of this virus. The virus is doing exactly what that virus should do but are we?
Viruses like COVID-19 are unpredictable. It can infect one person without the person actually knowing they have been infected and for another person they become ill, and in some cases, very ill. So this is serious- but we aren’t without any tools in our tool box. In this case the tool box I am referring to is our Risk Management Tool Box. Which is good news. More good news- I would guess that most, if not all of you, have already opened that box and are deploying appropriate counter measures.
You are trying to prevent yourself and others from getting sick by washing your hands (I have never sang Happy Birthday so many times in such a short time frame- ever!!). By bumping fist or elbows (the elbow thing seems rather unnatural to me- but I guess I will get used to it). By managing your personal space, coughing into your elbow, and on and on. That is called Risk Prevention or Risk Mitigation. It is like having a sprinkler system in your building- you are trying to contain or mitigate the damage.
Another Risk Management tool is called avoidance. You make the informed decision not to jump out of the airplane, even with a parachute on. Cancelling that spring break cruise, not attending events where large numbers of people are gathered, cancelling school or holding sporting events without the crowd- these are all ways of avoiding exposure to this new threat. Many of you are considering avoidance as a Risk Management strategy to deploy.
These strategies along with several others are tools in your Risk Management Tool Box- it is good to remember where you keep yours!!!
Speaking of Risk Management Tool Box, check out our new COVID-19 Resources page where you can find the latest articles, tips and tricks, and other items pertaining to your personal and business life.
