Have you ever studied risk management?
As a marketing major, I took the mandatory college course to meet the requirements for my business degree. On the first day, when the instructor introduced himself as an a insurance salesman, as I am ashamed to admit that I considered dropping the class and preregistering to learn from a real professor. While I’d now prefer a seasoned professional’s insights over textbook theories and case studies, back then, I was naive
Was he planning to teach us How to Sell Insurance 101?
No, he was not!
The career salesman quickly got down to the business of educating us with the aim of ensuring our time spent together was worthwhile. For starters, he informed, to pass his class, we must list all four rules of risk management correctly on the final exam. No matter how well we performed on every other test and assignment, that condition was nonnegotiable.
Underscoring his unshakable commitment to embedding this knowledge in our brains, the insurance salesman recited the principles and their implications at every opportunity.
- Consider the odds. What are the probabilities for consequential outcomes, both positive and negative, if you do one thing versus another?
- Don’t risk a lot for a little. Does the potential damage from your action or inaction greatly exceed the reward you’re seeking?
- Don’t risk more than you can afford to lose. Would the possible damage that could result from something you did or did not do be catastrophic to your health, finances, etc.?
- Do what you can to mitigate your exposure to risk. What proactive measures could you take to remove or reduce a potential threat?
Although risk assessments vary by person and circumstance, the decision-making process applies to countless aspects of life. In fact, if I were teaching risk management to college students today, I’d encourage them evaluate the potential gains and losses they might experience based on what they communicate.
- Consider the odds of causing trouble with your words and tone versus creating something good.
- Don’t risk losing something important for the fleeting satisfaction of saying what’s on your mind in the moment or sharing information that you have not carefully vetted because you didn’t think it was worth your time to research the matter.
- Don’t say or write something that could destroy significant relationships or leave an indelible stain on your reputation.
- Understand the power of words and the speed at which they can travel before releasing them.
The guidelines seem straightforward, but people are emotional, opinionated, and complicated. Therefore, when it comes to the risky business of communicating, the most reliable, worthwhile, and affordable risk management tool is self-control.
The disciplined student is more likely to gather information for the sake of learning rather than to prove a point, determine how speech can and should reflect deeply held values and long-term goals, and weigh the pros and cons of initiating or joining a conversation.
Professor Insurance Salesman, thank you for the lesson!
Sallie W. Boyles, a.k.a. Write Lady
Thoughts or questions? Please contact Sallie Boyles, owner of Write Lady Inc., to exchange ideas about effective communications and gain from professional writing and editing services. Receive monthly tips and insights by subscribing at https://WriteLady.com.