- If you treat risk management as a part-time job, you might soon find yourself looking for one ’- Deloitte white paper (Putting Risk in the Comfort Zone)
- I have learned that nothing is certain except for the need to have strong risk management, a lot of cash, the willingness to invest even when the future is unclear, and great people ’- Jeffrey R. Immelt
- Thoughtfully assessing and addressing enterprise risk and placing a high value on corporate transparency can protect the one thing we cannot afford to lose trust ’- Dale E. Jones, vice chairman and partner with Heidrick & Struggles
- We have no future because our present is to volatile. Will only have risk management ’- William Gibson
- Risk management is a culture, not a cult. It only works if everyone lives it, not if its practiced by a few high priests ’- Tom Wilson
- I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in financial history ’- Niall Ferguson
- There is no doubt that Formula 1 has the best risk management of any sport and any industry in the world ’- Jackie Stewart
- Stronger regulation and supervision aimed at problems with underwriting practices and lenders’ risk management would have been a more effective and surgical approach to constraining the housing bubble than a general increase in interest rates ’- Ben Bernanke
- If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesnt matter what business you’re in, it’s a risky business ’- Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn
- Adventure without risk is Disneyland ’- Douglas Coupland
- Risk and time are opposite sides of the same coin, for if there were no tomorrow there would be no risk. Time transforms risk, and the nature of risk is shaped by the time horizon: the future is the playing field ’- Peter Bernstein, Against the Gods
- As population susceptibilities are better understood, we will be in a better position than we are in today to make informed decisions about risk management ’- Samuel Wilson
- Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash ’- General George Patton
- All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger, but calculating risk and acting decisively ’- Niccolo Machiavelli
- Total enterprise risk management is critical, but implementing it is both expensive and easier said than done. Even the most sophisticated financial institutions are still basically silo risk managers ’- Danny Klinefelter, Professor and Extension Economist with Texas AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M University
- Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make ’- Sarah Ban
- The question of whether or to what extent human activities are causing global warming is not a matter of ideology, let alone of belief. The issue is simply one of risk management ’- Malcolm Turnbull
- Business people need to understand the psychology of risk more than the mathematics of risk ’- Paul Gibbons,
- Risk comes from not knowing what your doing ’-Warren Buffett
- You have to take risks. You will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen ’- Paulo Coelho
- Risk is a function of how poorly a strategy will perform if the ‘wrong’ scenario occurs ’- Michael Porter, Competitive Advantage
- Risk management should be an enterprisewide exercise and engrained in the business culture of the organisation ’- OSFI Superintendent Julie Dickson, June 1, 2011 (courtesy Ethidex)
- Risk is our business ’- Oswald Grübel, CEO at UBS
- When our leaders accept the status quo, we run the risk of disaster ’- Max Bazerman from “Predictable Surprises”
- The concept of ‘inherent risk’ is impossible to measure or even define. The idea of looking at risk absent all hard controls, soft controls, or mitigations, provides little or no useful information in most cases ’- Todd Perkins (from Journal of Applied Corporate Finance – volume 19 number 4)
- It’s important to take risks but it’s idiotic to take them blindly ’- Terry Levine
- Fail to identify the strategic risks and you fail as a business, no matter how well you manage your operational and project risks ’- Keith Baxter
- Business as usual is business at risk ’- Deloitte white paper
- Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of risks ’- Wikipedia
34 Thought Provoking Change Management Quotes
Change is good. It’s also often hard. The status quo can be so much more comfortable. But to succeed in business, you must run toward change. Companies most likely to be successful in making change work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view change as a discrete event to be managed, but as a constant opportunity to evolve the business
Here are 34 thought provoking change management quotes:
- It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change — Charles Darwin
- One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment — Robert E. Quinn
- Change before you have to — Jack Welch
- You must embrace change before change erases you.
— Rob Liano - Change before you have to — Jack Welch
- Too few leaders have the emotional fortitude to take responsibility for failure.
— Paul Gibbons, The Science of Successful Organisational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behaviour, and Create an Agile Culture - People don’t resist change. They resist being changed! — Peter Senge
- If you want to make enemies, try to change something — Woodrow Wilson
- The key to change is to let go of fear — Rosanne Cash
- The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress — Charles Kettering
- There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things — Niccolo Machiavelli
- Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future — John F. Kennedy
- Even those who fancy themselves the most progressive will fight against other kinds of progress, for each of us is convinced that our way is the best way.
— Louis L’Amour - Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times — Niccolo Machiavelli
- Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business — Mark Sanborn
- Change your thoughts and you change your world — Norman Vincent Peale
- If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less — General Eric Shinseki (U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1999-2003)
- We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn — Peter Drucker
- Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times
- — Niccolo Machiavelli
- All is connected, no one thing can change by itself
— Paul Hawken - Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, but make a point of trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you — William Frederick Book
- We would rather be ruined than change
- We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die — W. H. Auden
- Every generation needs a new revolution — Thomas Jefferson
- Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has — Margaret Mead
- I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s forward — David Livingstone
- Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself — George Bernard Shaw
- Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win— Max McKeown
- You can’t build an adaptable organization without adaptable people–and individuals change only when they have to, or when they want to — Gary Hamel
- People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours — Ken Hakuta
- A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it — Chinese Proverb
- The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change — Bill Clinton
- Each of us has the opportunity to change and grow until our very last breath. Happy creating — M.F. Ryan
Change or die? we choose life! How about you?
Playing God: Swedish Train operator uses Big Data to ‘avoid train delays that haven’t happened yet’
Welcome to the world of “Big Data.” We have more information at our fingertips than any generation in history. We live in the world of “Big Data.” That is the new way people are trying to describe this sea of digital facts, figures, products, books, music, video, and much more. Twitter, apps, Facebook–they’re each giving science new ways to look at what people do and why.
“Hopes, fears, and ethical concerns relating to technology are as old as technology itself.”
We actually welcome some aspect of Big Data. These mysterious data successes (or accidental successes) are easy to see as a kind of Big Brother future, where technology can track your every move and report back to ”¦ someone. However, StockholmstÃ¥g, the train operator is using new technology that employs big data to predict train delays before they happen.
“The Commuter Prognosis – A Social Scientist’s Dream Come True.”
The mathematic algorithm, called “The commuter prognosis” was developed in Stockholm, Sweden.
When a train is not on time the algorithm forecasts disruptions in the entire network by using historic big data to prevent the ripple effects that actually causes most delays.
Wilhelm Landerholm the mathematician who has developed the algorithm said:
“We have built a prediction model, using big data, that lets us visualize the entire commuter train system two hours into the future. We can now forecast disruptions in our service and our traffic control center can prevent the ripple effects that actually cause most delays.”
The algorithm has been tested but is not currently being used by traffic controllers.
How does it work?
The key to the model is a large amount of historical data. The model works similar to a seismograph, an instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes, such as force and duration, but instead identifies late train arrivals. When this happens, the system uses historical data from previous occurrences to forecast the likely impact on the entire train network.
Real-time public transportation information is already used around the globe, however, traffic control centers still typically assess delays manually to try and prevent further problems in a network. The commuter prognosis system, on the other hand, will forecast these delay effects instantaneously and provide a prediction of how a single or multiple disturbance might affect the whole train network. The commuter prognosis system could change how traffic control centers operate all over the world.
“The Effects of One Delayed Train Can Quickly Multiply Within a Train Network”
Imagine that “The commuter prognosis” forecasts that a train will be 10 minutes late to station C in two hours. To deal with this the traffic control center issues a new train from station A that will arrive on time at station C. As soon as the new train has been put in motion the algorithm re-calculates and gives the traffic control center a new forecast for the entire train network within minutes.”
The most important benefit of “The commuter prognosis” is that it provides for a more punctual public transportation.
Big Data, Ethics, and Religion
These stories remind us that even though companies and governments are doing amazing things with data, it’s at best imperfect. The algorithms and programs they use to filter and respond to data are at least as fallible as the human beings who designed them. We can also see its complexity and failures as evidence of the amazing omnipotence of our God – who doesn’t make errors and who knows right where to find us, even inside a great fish or the depths of hell.
The arrival of big data has already brought with it numerous questions that have yet to be properly addressed. These questions are methodological, epistemological, and ethical, and they concern (inter alia) the ways in which data is collected, stored, interpreted, represented, and traded. A further complication is a speed with which data science is advancing, which means that (for example) the application of legal and ethical restrictions to the practice of that science will always risk being several steps behind the point that it has currently reached. There are indications that we are currently sleepwalking towards a situation in which the commercial exploitation of big data routinely increases social division, and renders privacy a thing of the past.
Ket factors
- A mathematical model interprets big data to forecasts for each train in the train network.
- The commuter prognosis can warn about delays two hours before the departure or arrival actually takes place.
- The commuter prognosis calculates how the delay affects other trains in the system.
- The purpose of “the commuter prognosis” is to make life easier for traffic control centers and to give passengers a better service.
- In the future, the algorithm will be potentially adaptable for more types of public transportations and cities.
43 Great Quotes To Inspire You To Be a Better Christian Leader
Anyone who has responsibility for the work of others understands the unique challenges that come with managing people.
Over the years, various thought leaders have come up with pearls of wisdom in the form of quotations that when given some thought, have a lot to teach us. Sometimes a simple quote is just the thing to lift our spirits, to make us smile or to give us the energy to keep going when we’re feeling low.
Here are 43 such quotes to make us better Christian leaders.
- “The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.” – Unknown
- “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” – Unknown
- “The good news is, God has provided us with a LifeBook to help us – the Bible.” – Unknown
- “Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” – John Maxwell
- “There’s only two things you can start without a plan: a riot and a family, for everything else you need a plan.” – Unknown
- “Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” – Unknown
- “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell
- “Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.” – Fred Price
- “Running a project without a work breakdown structure is like going to a strange land without a roadmap” – J Phillips
- “You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” – Henry Ford”
- “Have a good plan, Execute it violently, Do it today” – General Douglas McArthur
- “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” – Unknown
- “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
- “A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.” – D. Meyer
- “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
- “What’s measured improves.” – Unknown
- “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint Exupry 1900-1944, French writer and aviator
- “If it is not documented, it doesn’t exist. As long as information is retained in someone’s head, it is vulnerable to loss.” – Unknown
- “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.” – Machiavelli 1446-1507, Italian statesman and philosopher
- “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra.” – Unknown
- “Luck is for the ill-prepared.” – Unknown
- “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.” – Chinese Proverb
- “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.” –Unknown
- “PMs are the most creative pros in the world; we have to figure out everything that could go wrong before it does.” – Fredrik Haren
- “Why do so many professionals say they are project managing when what they are actually doing is firefighting?” –Unknown
- “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” –Unknown
- “Ensure your documentation is short and sharp and make much more use of people-to-people communication.” –Unknown
- “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
- “Leadership offers an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter what the project.” – Bill Owens
- “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” – John C. Maxwell
- “Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.” – John Maxwell
- “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
- “The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” – Warren Bennis
- “The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” – Jerry McClain
- If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
- “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” – John Stott
- “We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.” – Charles F. Stanley
- “Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
- “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” –Unknown
- “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
- “The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.” – Matt Chandler
- “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential” – Winston Churchill
- “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” – John Piper
If you know a great quote or scripture that will inspire others to lead their churches better, please feel free to share it in the comments below.
Hidden Sins of Using Spreadsheets to Manage Projects
75 of the Most Inspirational Leadership Quotes
Momo Apartments
Zero defects are the primary battleground between traditional and modern construction methods. A relative concept, zero defects is, however, a target that the construction industry has set for itself. Primary considerations are structural stability and keeping the water out. Proper functioning of services, components, fixtures, and fittings are essential.
Energy and sound performance are also vital, as well as issues of safety, access, and security. This is a campaign which will be fought in years to come… and in the meantime here is another prefab scheme which feature’s in these skirmishes.
Mobile Modular (MoMo) is a research development project for a relocatable system of mass housing constructed from specially fabricated shipping containers. This type of system allows flats to be erected speedily on short-life sites and to be demounted and re-assembled in different configurations on other sites in the future.
The key objectives:
Remove MoMo apartments from a site where housing has been provided for 5 years.
Refurbish Each module at the supplier’s yard or an alternative temporary site.
Re-locate The apartments in any new configuration to provide decanting, short-term housing, permanent apartments. This type of system can also become a permanent housing solution.
Originally commissioned by the Peabody Trust, after feasibility stage, the team was invited to take the project forward with their own initiative. The team formed a consortium with the aim of developing a prototype to demonstrate the principles, and to market the MoMo scheme as a one-stop shop package to interested parties.
How to Raise a God Fearing Child?
It’s every parent desires to raise up their kids in a Godly way and for them to follow and love Christ passionately. It becomes a tragedy when you as a parent does not have any idea on how to. What a hard nut to crack if the children decide to be rebellious and as a parent or guardian you are not rooted in the word of God?
This pushes me to ask this annoying question, “Are you living a life your child would love to emulate?” Live as an example and whatever principles you set he will follow them wholeheartedly.
Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Children are a blessing from God and it’s a joy when they are following the footsteps of our Lord Christ Jesus and doing things according to his will. As we were all born sinners, children aren’t an exception and unless you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in parenting, I tell you this is not for the faint-hearted but I’ll take you through ways on how to help you raise Godly children and for them to learn His attributes.
Pray for wisdom
James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Praying, reading the word and exercising wisdom as you wait on God unlock many puzzles which the enemy can use to draw your children far away from his love. It doesn’t act like magic but takes the grace of God which will always sustain you. Implementing on what you learn from God’s word is highly recommended.
Protect your children
In this generation we are living in, children are surrounded by perverts, ungodly media and all negative influencers. As a parent, you need to take full responsibility to ensure that your children are protected from all vices. It’s your mandate for the Lord has entrusted them to you.
Control your children
Parents allow too much freedom to their children and it turns out to be very difficult to withdraw that freedom while they are older. You have the right to supervise what they’re watching, sites they log into to protect them from cyberbullying and to avoid technology controlling them. Monitoring whom they spend their time with is advisable. Teach them to walk in the “fear” of God and make them understand that there are boundaries. Be firm but with a lot of love.
Trying to turn children away from their wayward behavior comes with a lot of emotional burdens that takes massive effort to heal.
Have commitment and determination
Amos 3:3 says, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”
It’s obliviously a no! As parents, you need to agree and purpose on how to raise your children in a Godly way and with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit you’ll definitely emerge victoriously. Determination comes from within and the higher the commitment; awesomeness will be experienced by all.
Bless your children
Speak positively concerning your children. Bless them and speak to their future. The tongue has the power to curse and bless and you may not wish your child to live in resentment for the rest of his life because of the choice of your words.
Proverbs 12:18 says, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
Sieve every word that comes out from your mouth. Children can be rebellious at times and no matter how irresponsible they are, thank God for blessing you with that child. Talk to them about how their behaviors are weighing you down and at the same time appreciate them for their best part. Dwelling on the negativity will tear both parties down. Be wise.
Proverbs 23:13-14 says, “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from the death.
Children are bound to be rebellious and little spanking is allowed as long as it won’t cause bodily harm. Do it with a lot of love though. Involve your children in daily prayers and set family devotional times.
How To Handle The Uncertainties of Life
The uncertainties of life are things beyond our control and knowledge. We cannot predict the outcome. Maybe we can do little to influence it. These can keep us awake at night. Not only do they bother us all night long, they are ghosts that troll us during the day. We lose focus. We are unable to connect with people around us because these uncertainties have taken hold of our mind and heart.
“Is my job secure?” “Do people approve of what I’ve done?” How can we handle these kinds of uncertainties? How do we fruitfully manage them?
1. Trust the love of God.
At times, failings and incapability cause other people to lose love and confidence in us. Friends shy away. Relationships end because you lost your job or you made a complete fool of yourself in public. But God is not repulsed by any of that. He loves us passionately. He loves us the same, whether we do well or not. Lamentations 3:22 says God’s love is stedfast. It never stops. His love never wavers. His love is forever loyal.
Trusting the love of God allows us to remain secure in the middle of uncertainties. God loves us. He will work things out for our good (Romans 8:28).
2. Trust the wisdom of God.
That we do not know something can be very debilitating. We are unable to proceed because we don’t know what’s ahead. Decisions are hard to make because we are banking on predicted outcomes before we even take the plunge. We don’t want to act aimlessly. We don’t want to invest efforts and emotions into something or someone when there is no promise of fruit.
It is in these times that the follower of God needs to trust the wisdom of God. Keep holding on to Him and the truths and promises of His Word. Maintain a life guided by the principles of His Word. Joshua 1:8 assures that those who live by the wisdom of His Word will be prosperous and have good success in his life. Although this may be material in nature, it is not solely so. The Hebrew root word translated as prosperous carries the meaning of “advancement” while the root translated as success carries the meaning of “to understand, to gain insight”. This means Scriptures are never dated or obsolete. This means dedication to God’s Word leads to advancement and understanding in life. This means that in God’s Word you find what you need for right and fruitful living.
Best-selling books sold on shelves today talk about how to be successful in dealing with people. People buy pricy self-help books and attend expensive seminars to hear life coaches encouraging them towards positive and successful living. But in the very pages of God’s Word are all the tools we need to live positive in this negative world. In His Word are principles for right communication and relationships with the people around us.
Now, in immersing yourself with the guidance of His Words, uncertainties will still present themselves. It is in these moments that you need to trust the wisdom of an all-knowing God who plans good things for you, never evil. When you doubt and worry about the things He allows to happen in your life, seek assurance and comfort from His Word. Never let the enemy sow lies. God promises to never abandon us. (Hebrews 13:5) So at all times, run to God and not away from Him.
