On the latest episode of Risk Management: Brick by Brick, Jason Reichl is at RISKWORLD 2024 speaking to David Williams, Risk Management Director for the LA Clippers.
In this episode, Jason and David explore the ins and outs of running a risk program for an NBA team. Discover how it compares to other areas of insurance, the importance of building relationships with stakeholders and experts, and David’s advice for beginner risk managers.
To find out how TrustLayer manages risk so that people can build the physical world around us, head to TrustLayer.io.
Learn All Aspects of the Business
To David, the key to success in many aspects of risk management is to learn all areas of the business fully.
For example, to get stakeholder engagement in a risk management program, learn the organization from top to bottom. In doing so, you will be able to appreciate exactly where risks lie. Once you understand this, then you can establish the risk appetite of the organization and communicate this with stakeholders to get their buy-in.
“You really have to learn the organization so you know what the risks are.”
He is also an advocate for learning all areas of risk management, as this is how you can reach your full potential in your career. He began in claims, but then moved into loss control so he could learn how to prevent claims from happening in the first place. From there, he has grown to study more areas of the industry, and has now worked in enterprise risk management for ten years. This means he now has a seat at the table with the C-suite, and this was only possible through getting experience in a variety of risk management areas.
“You're gonna be pretty limited as a risk manager if you don't learn the whole business.”
Don’t Be a Know-it-All
David is also a big proponent of risk managers building relationships, primarily with brokers.
Even if you intensively study every area of risk management and your organization, you simply can’t know everything. There will always be at least one area that you won’t understand as well, in which you will have to rely on experts to help fill you in. This is where brokers come in.
Of course, it would be remiss to assume brokers know everything themselves. However, they do have a team that is composed of individuals with a variety of knowledge. This means that, when you work as a team, you will know everything and will be able to face any situation put in front of you.
“With a broker, your producer, or your main contact, they don't know it all, but their team is comprised of folks so, as a team, you do know it all. ”
And, of course, learning how to build relationships with your brokers will also help you to learn to build relationships with stakeholders, which will help in getting buy-in for your programs. It’s all related.
To find out more about David’’s experience of risk management in the NBA, tune in to this episode of Risk Management: Brick by Brick.
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3XrTINV
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4c6Vclm
Podcast Host: Jason Reichl
Executive Producer: Don Halliwell
