Enterprise Risk Management Lessons from Paragliding
Paragiding in Iceland
The natural beauty of Iceland is breathtaking. Its wild and raw landscape is incredibly diverse with amazing waterfalls, mountains, and glaciers that are frequently illuminated by the Northern Lights.
Iceland sits in a divergent geological boundary where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart. As these continents move away from each other hot magma rises to form new land, volcanoes, and hot springs. I can personally testify, that witnessing a live volcano up close is an unforgettable experience.
A multi-day trek on the Laugavegur trail is a great way to deeply experience Icelandic wonders; but viewing them from the air in a Paraglider provides an entirely different perspective.
To safely fly a paraglider, extensive training and certifications are essential even if not required. My son Ben completed a two-week certification course in Norway and then another in Iceland where he lives now. Course instructors try to weed out aspiring pilots who don’t have what it takes to fly safely.
You might say that a good paraglider pilot is also a meteorologist. Before flying, paraglider pilots usually talk with oneanother and check apps to analyze wind and thermal conditions. The wrong conditions can carry you much higher than you want, or slam you into a hillside or a tree, or carry you far away. Therefore, pilots routinely sit and wait for favorable conditions. Paragliders often say, “it’s better to be on the ground wishing to be up in the air than to be up in the air wishing you were on the ground.”
There are techniques and maneuvers to descend when you find yourself going higher than you want.
We climbed up a mountain near Reykjavík with Ben a few a few days ago and waited in a grassy meadow for favorable wind and thermals. We watched one pilot take off from above us in less-than-ideal conditions with a new paraglider that was too large for him. That resulted in too much lift! It carried him way up there and far away with a rough landing in the end. Ben on the other hand waited and had a very smooth flight.
Like many things in life, Paragliding comes with a unique set of risks. Those risks are managed through procedures, best practices, thorough training, certifications, and preflight risk assessments. It is important for each pilot to learn from failures and near misses for continuous improvement.
So, what are the takeaways for an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system? First, the risks must be identified. Second, operational procedures must be in place to treat those risks. Third, thorough training and competency certifications are utilized. Fourth, flight-specific risk management strategies must undergird each flight: weather assessment, go/no-go decisions, flight plan, etc. Finally, any failures or near misses must be evaluated to understand what went wrong and learn how to improve.
Does your organization’s ERM system look anything like this? It can’t be a static system that you only look at once very few years. It has to be a dynamic system with a continuous improvement feedback loop.
Take appropriate risks. Manage those risks. Board members must ask hard governance questions. Go fly, sail, or do whatever your mission dictates, but do it within the context of an effective ERM system.
A safe son who effectively manages these risks makes for happy parents of a paraglider pilot!
See the POV perspective here: https://youtu.be/1Qh4gctZ8cw?si=2YjwKo36apGwOeea
