CHAPTER 13 Driver #7: Risk “Threat or opportunity”
This is a difficult driver for the natural-born entrepreneur to grasp: surely entrepreneurship is all about risking it? As Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, is fond of saying “Screw it! Let’s do it!” And yet growth stories, like all stories, tell how our heroes guard against all manner of risks and dark forces. Managing risk is as important as managing opportunity, if not as much fun.
“Entrepreneurs are risk takers,” says Randy Tavierne, EY Global Leader, Growth Markets Assurance, “but the best high-growth entrepreneurs also understand the importance of risk management – and put in place people, process, and technology to manage risk effectively. The benefits are many, including more rapid access to capital and a lower cost associated with that capital.”
As shown in Figure 13.1, regardless of a company’s stage of growth, the ability to identify and manage risk is essential to sustainable success. Company leaders with the ambition to become market leaders should not fear risk, but they should recognize that it exists. Identifying risk, implementing sound policies to mitigate it, and being aware that any risk management strategy will need continual review frees up the business to focus on opportunity.
Figure 13.1 EY 7 Drivers of Growth – Risk
Entrepreneurial success in the area of risk is dependent on successful implementation ...