Risk Attitudes - PMStudent (2024)

I listened to Cornelius Fichtner’s new PM Podcast episode today, How do risk attitudes affect your project?

As usual, Cornelius provides great content in this episode. The interview with Janice Preston was very insightful and helped me with the concept of risk management. In school, they teach you that risk management is almost like it’s own little module that you do while planning and insert into the project plan. Sometimes they talk about updating and reviewing it regularly. I’ve never heard them talk about it in the context of the risk attitudes of project stakeholders.

You really need to listen to this episode if you haven’t already, but one aspect I liked was the classification of 4 distinct risk attitudes:

  1. Risk Seeker – enjoys and seeks uncertainty in search of greater opportunities, can be overly optimistic and not take possible negative consequences seriously.
  2. Risk Averse – uncomfortable with uncertainty, doesn’t like risk
  3. Risk Tolerant – reasonably comfortable with uncertainty, but usually sticks head in the sand and ignores them
  4. Risk Neutral – analyzes risks and weighs negative/positive possible outcomes and probabilities objectively.

From my experiences with project managers, it appears to me that the majority are Risk Tolerant. I say that based on how little time and effort is usually put into analyzing and planning for risks. I can also identify with these classifications because of people I’ve worked with on project teams. Some people seem to have their heads in the clouds and look for risky solutions when a more proven approach would do (Risk Seeker), and others are conservative to the point of seeming cynical (Risk Averse).

Risk Neutral is the goal. Personally, I’d say I’m more of a Risk Seeker right now, but the knowledge and experience I’m gaining are directing me more towards the direction of Risk Neutral. The tools and techniques of risk management are doing that for me by forcing me to look at uncertainty in more of a formal SWOT analysis where my exuberant optimism can be subjected to some logical scrutiny.

Be sure you head over to The Project Management Podcast and check out this episode.

Risk Attitudes - PMStudent (2024)

FAQs

What are the four types of risk attitudes? ›

There are three major risk attitudes: risk aversion, risk seeking, and risk neutrality.

What is a risk-averse attitude? ›

What Is Risk Averse? Risk aversion is the tendency to avoid risk. The term risk-averse describes the investor who chooses the preservation of capital over the potential for a higher-than-average return.

What is an investor's attitude to risk? ›

Your attitude to risk is partly psychological – how you feel about risk and how much risk you're willing to take with your money. Understanding your emotional ability to bear losses can help you choose the investments that you're comfortable with.

What is the attitude of a risk taker? ›

Risk-taking individuals seek out risks and are willing to take on high levels of uncertainty in pursuit of potential rewards. Understanding these attitudes is essential in today's business culture, where risk management is critical to project success.

What are the 4 main attitudes? ›

The four basic types of attitudes and behaviors are positive, negative, neutral & sikken.
  • Positive Attitude: - This is one type of attitude in organizational behavior.
  • Negative Attitude: - A negative attitude is something that every person should avoid.
May 5, 2022

What are the 4 categories of risk? ›

The main four types of risk are:
  • strategic risk - eg a competitor coming on to the market.
  • compliance and regulatory risk - eg introduction of new rules or legislation.
  • financial risk - eg interest rate rise on your business loan or a non-paying customer.
  • operational risk - eg the breakdown or theft of key equipment.

How do you determine risk attitude? ›

Measures of risk attitude use self-report questionnaires that directly query individuals about risky situations. Measures of personality traits related to risk assess risk attitude through individuals' self-reports of personality traits related to risk-taking and aversion.

What is the risk premium and risk aversion? ›

The risk premium is the amount that a risk averse person will pay to avoid taking a risk. In the previous example, we know the lottery gives us an expected utility of . 7. To find the risk premium, we need to find the amount of money we would be willing to give up to eliminate risk altogether.

What are attitude to risk levels? ›

"Attitude to risk", "risk appetite" or "risk reward profile" are terms used to describe an investors level of risk they are willing to take when choosing investments to reach their savings goal.

What are the three main attitudes of risk? ›

Risk attitude is an explanatory variable that has three types: risk preference, risk neutrality, and risk aversion.

What is the risk attitude in ERM? ›

Risk attitude is the manner in which an organization and its stakeholders collectively perceive, assess, and treat risk.

What is risk attitude concept? ›

If “risk” is defined as “an uncertainty that could have a positive or negative effect on one or more objectives”, and “attitude” is defined as “chosen state of mind, mental view or disposition with regard to a fact or state”, then combining the two gives an initial definition of “risk attitude” as “chosen state of mind ...

What personality types are risk-averse? ›

One study found that investors with a higher tolerance for risk were more likely to have a Thinking preference, while those with a Feeling preference were more risk-averse. Furthermore, another study found that those who prefer Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging were more risk-averse.

What personality types are risk-taking? ›

A first important finding is that all types of risk-taking increased with higher levels of extraversion and neuroticism, openness to experience, self-assurance, and the ability to make decisions. Openness to problem solving and inner balance had a negative impact on risktaking.

What are the characteristics of a risk-averse person? ›

Risk averse means someone who is choosing options and making decisions that will limit loss. They are making choices depending on how much risk is involved. If it is too much risk that person will make a more conservative choice with predictable results.

What are the 4 key concepts of risk? ›

What Are the Four Concepts of Risk Management? Integrating risk into decision-making, fostering a strong risk culture, disclosing risk information, and continuously improving risk management procedures are the four key concepts that underpin the success of risk management.

What are the four 4 categories of risk management techniques? ›

There are four main risk management strategies, or risk treatment options:
  • Risk acceptance.
  • Risk transference.
  • Risk avoidance.
  • Risk reduction.
Apr 23, 2021

What are the four 4 standard approaches for dealing with risk threats? ›

There are four risk management strategies that are unique to Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: risk acceptance, risk avoidance, risk limitation, and risk transference.

What are the 4 ways to assess risk? ›

The four common risk assessment tools are: risk matrix, decision tree, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), and bowtie model.

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