Every morning I see rabbits all over the place. Some are on their own, while others are in groups. On one particular morning, there was a group of four nibbling on the grass. As I approached, three ran up the hill and into a bush. The fourth ran down the hill, paused and watched me as I walked by.

Everyone has their own perception and tolerance for risk. But in business, that can be problematic if individual tolerance for risk is too permissive or too restrictive. How are you making sure you get the balance you want in your business?

Malcolm Gladwell recently shared things he has been thinking about and testing. One in particular caught my attention. Driverless cars. His theory is that people fear walking out in front of cars because they won’t be seen and will be hit. But in the future, driverless cars will be programmed to stop when people walk in front of them. As a result, what has been touted as a more efficient way to commute will come to a grinding halt because people will no longer follow the rules and will walk across roads and highways at will.

Unintended consequences happen all the time from great and well-meaning ideas. What unintended consequences are coming from your ideas?

The woman was just past the entrance inside of the store. And then it happened. She had a sneezing fit. And as one sneeze after another came, she removed her mask. It is a natural reaction. But the mask is a risk mitigation measure meant to protect others.

Those same sort of natural inclinations to remove mitigation measures happen all the time in business. Risks can be infrequent, but highly impactful if they happen. But mitigation responses are designed with the expectation that people will think through all of the mitigation options when risks arise. And they fail because right at the moment the mitigation measures are most needed, instincts and experience kick in. And the mitigation measures designed for the moment are forgotten or overlooked.

How are you ensuring you don’t skip mitigation measures when risks arise?

About a month ago, a big snow storm hit the area, leaving snow in many places for a week. And for a few days, the snow was so high, leaving the house was nearly impossible. And while only a few ventured out bundled up, the birds were out in force. They were flying around and chirping away. It was too cold for people to go outside, but tiny birds were quite happy out in the freezing temperatures. How did they not freeze? Apparently, they have several mechanisms to survive the cold.

There are extreme situations that can test businesses every year. Just like birds have built in capabilities to make it through, businesses can build in capabilities too. What are the extreme situations you experience in your business? How are you building in capabilities to make it through them?

A few weeks ago, during the snow storm in the Pacific Northwest, I lost the internet connection for a few hours. Luckily, it was a short period of time and I still had power. I also had a radio, so I was able to listen to the radio to hear updates.

The situation was a good reminder of the power of backup plans. There are always a variety of issues that can crop up in business. And having backup plans that are not reliant on the same platforms are important to keep going. What are your backup plans?

There is a steep hill by my house. Steep enough that cars can easily accelerate beyond 40 mph without pressing the gas peddle, causing homeowners to post signs along the road to slow down. Apparently the attraction of the hill was too great for a teenage boy to resist. He went flying down the hill, with cars behind him, without a helmet. Hitting a twig or rock, which are common along the road, could have resulted in serious injury or worse. But he was lucky and ended his ride safely.

Sometimes reckless risks payoff. But the payoff is a function of luck, not skill. Taking calculated risks, understanding what could go wrong and having a plan to address them, makes a lot of sense. But in taking the risk, you should be willing to lose whatever is being placed on the line if going big. What risks are you willing to take?

During the winter, an ice patch forms in the same location. Water flows from one side of the street to the other and freezes in a patch wide enough to make stepping across not an option. Some people see it and turn around. Others try to walk across it and fall. And others see the way around by stepping on the curb, holding onto the light pole and getting to the other side.

When you see a problem, how do you get around it?

Walking around the area, the fall berries provide a nice pop of color and contrast to the bare limbs and bushes in the winter. They are everywhere in many colors and sizes. After the birds ate my strawberries and cherries through the summer, I got to wondering why the birds eat the summer berries, but not the fall and winter berries. The answer wasn’t simple and straightforward. But clearly there is something that causes the birds to stay away.

Your business should have things you instinctively know to stay away from too. Whether projects that don’t move the organization forward or risks that shouldn’t be taken, every person in the organization should know instinctively to stay away.

The smoke has cleared and the sun is back! But for a while, everything went haywire. Including Amazon deliveries. My orders got to the area, but just sat there. I could see it through the tracking. The delivery dates were sliding out and finally were listed as potentially lost. There wasn’t any notice if the site was being impacted by smoke or fire and the people at the help desk didn’t know anything. After one order showed as being sent to Maryland from Portland a week later, I was finally able to reach a person live who told me everything was in Portland and would arrive that day!

When systems are completely automated and an unexpected event disrupts and intervenes, the system can give all sorts of bad information. How are you building checks into your systems to make sure you are getting the right information at the right time?