Risk management is the process of identifying, prioritizing, and minimizing the risks faced by an organization. While specific areas of concern for risk analysis vary widely between different sectors, risk can be broadly defined as sources of uncertainty with the potential to negatively impact the organization’s objectives. By definition, reducing the likelihood of bad outcomes for a business is important to its ongoing success - and in some cases, critically so.

Project management as an example of an area where risk management is both wide-ranging in responsibilities and centrally important. Whether the project in question is building a skyscraper, a power plant, or a subway system, project managers must look at risks that can occur at any point throughout development cycles that can span months or even years. With potential risks including accidents on site, natural disasters, pricing changes in supplies, subcontractor performance, changes in regulatory requirements, and countless others, the task of not only identifying but prioritizing their importance a considerable challenge - let alone minimizing them all.

Risk management is also of central importance in investing. Financial risk is the risk of losing money on a transaction, and modern portfolio theory has developed techniques for assembling a group of investments that minimize the total Value At Risk (VAR) for a targeted level of return - or conversely, maximize returns for a given level of risk. Portfolio optimization is achieved by bundling together assets with a diverse mix of risk profiles that cancel each other out when aggregated, and today’s financial engineering techniques harness incredibly sophisticated, computer-powered modeling to achieve this goal.

Of course, risks can never be completely eliminated - and, as “black swan” events such as the COVID-19 epidemic demonstrate, the risks that are hardest to foresee are often the most impactful. However, by prioritizing and minimizing known risks, prudent risk management can give businesses an advantage even in the midst of unprecedented circumstances.