When we think about risk in our industry, we typically associate it with dangerous unknowns, projects that go awry, and ugly legal messes that professional liability carriers come in to sanitize. Some fall in this category and some are so trivial we hardly notice them anymore. Like anything else, risk and risky situations have a flip side that can turn in our favor. These are called opportunities (positive risk) and they only assist us when we grab them at the right time. 
 
The fundamental reason we even consider taking risks in our business or on our projects is to achieve a specific reward; whatever we perceive that to be at the time. We give these risks even more weight and attention when we find few alternatives around us that will deliver the same benefit in the same amount of time. It’s worth emphasizing that it’s perfectly reasonable to take risks—even really big ones—as long as we do the smart thinking upfront and are very clear on what we may win.
 
So what’s the reward, then, when we:

• Work without a contract?
• Take projects outside our expertise or region?
• Assign unprepared project managers?
• Don’t train the team?

Architecture, engineering and environmental consulting leaders alike will admit to taking on any or all of these risks at some point during their tenure. Because we got away with it once—relatively unscathed or unnoticed—we kept up the practice until it became a standard in the industry. We’re not necessarily pleased that we’re taking these risks but we can’t seem to break out of the temptation of choosing that path. As long as the ramifications aren’t dragging down our business, we deem them acceptable.
 
So, in our short list of examples, what kind of risks are we talking about? What could the opportunities be?
 
Working without a contract. I’m hearing more stories of entities backing out of or disputing contracts that were never fully executed. Work had started and now my clients are stunned—never expecting this from those they’ve known for years. That was a definite risk turned nightmare. Here’s your chance to turn this around: good clients respect good contracts. Unlike in the past, there are very few projects today that need to be rushed before the paperwork is in place. Get your contract in hand so that if anything happens, you’ve at least got a legal footing now to stand on.
 
Taking projects outside our expertise or region. We need backlog and we need it now. This frantic search, however, can lead us into uncharted territory full of risks. Rather than going it alone, collaboration with another firm presents lots of opportunities. The client will like the stronger team, but you will enjoy the shared resources and insight from your partner. There are of course secondary risks to be considered when teaming up, but as alliances are happening more frequently, best practices and guidelines are readily available.
 
Assigning an unprepared project team. Probably one of the most common risks we take is placing a project under the management of a team member that isn’t ready for the role. The list of bad things that could occur is endless—but one that many firms willingly accept. Worse yet, they take the gamble without much of a contingency plan in mind. There is zero benefit in skimping on training—whereas the investment is an opportunity one would be foolish not to seize. Rather than delivering a well-managed project, be recognized as the firm that leads projects and teams to a successful and superior finish. Training is your team’s steppingstone to profitability and differentiation. 
 
In some cases, determining which action to take will be straightforward. When it’s not so clear and we’re calculating options, we should refuse to accept risks if:

• We cannot articulate the benefit,
• We are not attaining a project or firm objective,
• That objective does not have a real and strategic value, and
• We do not have a plan ready if the outcomes aren’t what we envisioned

The project environment will always carry risks—but managing them through in a sensible and deliberate manner protects everything we’ve worked hard to build. With so many unknowns externally, we shouldn’t be adding to those tensions by taking uncontrolled risks internally. Instead, we should be looking for the opportunities that lie within and take full advantage of them.