The Future of Risk: Achieving Skills Agility in the High Velocity Economy

Back to work, and I'm off to San Antonio, Texas, to keynote the Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America Joint Underwriting/Marketing conference.

I'll be speaking to them on the broad theme of the "future of risk;" what unique new risks might we face in society as we go forward. I look at technological, social, demographic, international, bio/health care issues, and a wide variety of other trends that are changing our ideas about risk.

The session description reads:

In today's high velocity economy, it's all about rapid time to market balanced by appropriate underwriting caution. The insurance industry today is immersed in a period of unprecedented, relentless change; impacted by hyper-innovation, fast-paced technological evolution, the rapid emergence of new forms of risk, and increasing business market turmoil. Permanence has been torn asunder, as customers and business organizations empower themselves with information, and as underwriting decisions become ever more complex. In an era such as this, every insurance organization needs to ensure that they are are focused on the concepts of "agility, insight and execution." The way to the future is clear: it's no longer about simple risk management: it's about having the flexibilty to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances; the insight to spot emerging new forms of before they impact the bottom line; and operational excellence in deployment of new insurance products based on sound, reliable underwriting. Join international futurist, trends and innovation expert Jim Carroll, as he shares his insight into the how organizations are focused on management strategies that focus on agility, insight, and execution.

I've done this talk for quite a number of organizations. What's with the zorbing ball? One thing I talk about is how global connectivity is resulting in the more rapid emergence of extreme sports and extreme ideas, and we are witnessing a society that simply seems to take on new forms of risk quicker!

Zorbing is a sport in which you place yourself in a big plastic ball, and roll down a hill! The sport has gone global because of global connectivity: blogs, mailing lists, and web sites.....more connectivity means more rapid sharing of strange ideas!