Risk Management and Alligators

I read once in a project management book, very likely from one of many that James P. Lewis wrote, where projects risks are described as being like alligators over which you have to jump over in order to complete the project. The menacing reptiles may or may try to bite you, and if they do, they may or may not succeed. Risk management is a tool you can use to get you past the alligators alive and well.

I think the imagery can be further adjusted to fit reality a little better. In many projects we are racing to complete the project against competition or against time. In other words, we don't just need to get past the alligators, we need to do so quickly because there are hungry wolves tearing down behind us.

If we adopt this revised imagery, we begin to see clearly that there are trade-offs that must be faced. If there are hungry wolves closing in, we may need to get across now. We may not have the luxury of waiting for the alligators to sleep before attempting to cross. We are now able to accept greater risk. Yes, we might get a chunk of our rump bitten off by an alligator, but the razor sharp alternative is coming in fast.