Risk, Opportunity and Performance

It’s always a work of immense dedication to draw together what you have learnt in the course of a lifetime’s labour to offer to others the lessons you have learnt through challenges and more importantly the opportunities you were presented with. In Risk Opportunity & Performance, Professor Clive Deadman delivers an erudite and refreshingly optimistic exploration of the role risk plays through the use of myriad case studies and examples in the public domain, and to which he can add insight from his extensive experience in various industries especially in property. Throughout the book he suggests risk should be treated not as a threat to be avoided, but as a dynamic force to be measured, understood, and ultimately embraced. What sets this book apart from the IRM’s syllabus is firstly, its deliberate return to first principles and looking at risk through a historical lens and secondly its categorisation of levels of performance in respect of risk management. Deadman excavates the roots of risk thinking, drawing on both the rational philosophies of ancient Greece and the very earliest thoughts of Babylonian, Egyptian and Indian traditions. By tracing the lineage of risk awareness from antiquity to today’s highly codified standards, he provides readers with not only historical depth but conceptual clarity. Rather than allowing the narrative to collapse into a warning against failure, Deadman reframes risk as a gateway to opportunity. His core message is both timely and timeless and follows that which we have preached in the Institute. By monitoring and measuring risk effectively, we position ourselves not to retreat from uncertainty, but to harness it in the pursuit of strategic success and optimised outcomes. The prose is precise without being austere, offering a compelling blend of academic insight and executive relevance. His categorisations and conclusions on performance are insightful and by highlighting leadership principles in the use of information will doubtless withstand for some time the coming AI revolution. Whether you're shaping board-level decisions or refining personal leadership strategies, this book is a useful companion for those who see risk as a lever rather than a liability. Technical Adviser IRM