Mastering Multi-Dimensional Risk with the Risk Doctor

Risk management touches every aspect of our professional and personal lives, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood disciplines in business today. From boardrooms to project sites, organizations struggle with how to identify, assess, and respond to the uncertainties that could make or break their objectives. Read the interview with Dr. David Hillson and discover The Risk Doctor's prescription for practical risk management!

About the Guest

Dr. David Hilson, known globally as "The Risk Doctor," has spent over three decades demystifying risk management for organizations worldwide. With more than 15 books, 140 briefings, and consulting work across 60 countries spanning industries from energy and mining to aerospace, he has built his reputation on transforming complex risk concepts into practical tools that actually work.

In this conversation, Dr. Hilson shares insights from his extensive experience, reveals common misconceptions that hold organizations back, and provides frameworks that any leader can implement immediately. Whether you're managing projects, running a business, or simply trying to make better decisions under uncertainty, this interview offers valuable perspectives on how to navigate risk more effectively.

The Interview

Jowanza: Dr. Hilson, thank you for joining us today. Let's start with what you see as the biggest misconception about risk in industry.

Risk Doctor: Thank you for having me. The biggest misconception I encounter is when people say "risk management isn't my job—there's someone else who takes care of that." This couldn't be further from the truth. Managing risk is fundamentally a life skill. It's how we stay alive day to day, how the human species has survived. Risk management is everybody's job because risk affects the things that matter to each of us, and we all need to manage our own risks.

Jowanza: That's a perspective that resonates strongly, especially as someone running a startup where risk-reward decisions are constant. What drew you into this field originally?

Risk Doctor: It was entirely by accident, actually. Back in the mid-1980s, I was a project manager at a major engineering company in the UK. We had this multi-million international contract that was really in trouble—no completion plan, lots of technical issues. The company bosses had heard about risk management from the oil and gas sector and asked me to look into it, thinking it might rescue the project.

I learned about risk management quickly, applied the techniques, and it worked. We rescued the project successfully—on time, on budget, delighting the client. The bosses said "that was good, do it again," and I discovered I really liked it and was quite good at it. So I got dropped into it because I was a junior project manager who had to do as I was told.

Jowanza: Having worked in this field for nearly four decades, what keeps you passionate about it?

Risk Doctor: It really makes a difference. Risk management genuinely works. It helps us focus on things we weren't previously focusing on, see things we hadn't seen before, and ultimately succeed better—whether in projects, business operations, or even our personal lives.

I think of it as a "risk radar" that scans the future and shows what's coming toward you. What makes me passionate is seeing organizations, teams, and individuals achieve their goals more effectively, with less stress. People literally sleep better at night. It's tremendously satisfying as a consultant to see clients doing what they need to do, but doing it better.

Jowanza: How has your perspective on risk management evolved over these decades?

Risk Doctor: It's changed dramatically, mostly because I've had the privilege of working with brilliant innovators who've grown the discipline alongside me. Initially, I was entirely focused on process—identify risks, prioritize them, develop responses, report, repeat. But I quickly discovered that process isn't enough. It's people who manage risks, not processes.

Understanding the human side—psychology, bias, decision-making, personal motivations—has been crucial. So now it's about people plus process. The scope has also broadened tremendously. We used to focus just on technical project delivery, but now we see risk management applied everywhere: governments, charities, churches, tennis clubs, families. We're dealing with cyber risk, artificial intelligence, big data—things we never dreamed of before. The UN has even recognized "existential risk"—risks to humanity as a whole.

Jowanza: When you work with organizations, what are the most common mistakes you see in implementing risk management?

Risk Doctor: Beyond the "it's not my job" misconception, the biggest mistake is thinking all risk is bad. People view risk only as threats to protect against, missing that risk includes upside as well as downside. There are uncertainties that could help you achieve your goals faster, cheaper, and more effectively.

All innovation comes from embracing uncertainty. Organizations that only focus on protecting themselves will always fail—it's just a question of how badly. If you don't also look for opportunities to work smarter by embracing uncertainty, you miss half the picture. We've been talking about this dual nature of risk for 25 years, yet organizations still focus predominantly on the downside.

Jowanza: That entrepreneurial risk-reward perspective definitely resonates. Can you share a practical example where simple risk practices made a significant difference?

Risk Doctor: I worked with NASA on their mission to Mars planning. They wanted to build a base station on the moon as a jumping-off point, but they'd locked themselves into thinking everything was impossibly risky. We flipped their approach with what I called a "good luck workshop."

Instead of brainstorming everything that could go wrong, we imagined I was a fairy godmother granting three wishes for building a moon base. What would they wish for? It sounds crazy, but we generated eight actionable ideas. One "silly" wish was discovering aliens had already built a base we could use. That led to thinking about existing human habitats in unsurvivable environments—like research stations at the bottom of the ocean. Suddenly they had real design concepts they could adapt for lunar conditions.

Jowanza: That's a brilliant reframing. You've developed many frameworks, but I'd like to focus on your seven questions approach. Can you walk us through that?

Risk Doctor: My motto is "understand profoundly so you can explain simply." Risk management can seem highly technical, but the real job of an expert is translating deep thinking into something anyone can understand and use. So I distilled the entire risk process into seven common-sense questions:

1. What are we trying to do? (defining objectives)

2. What could affect us? (identifying risks)

3. Which are the big ones? (prioritizing risks)

4. What could we do about it? (response planning)

5. Did that work? (reviewing effectiveness)

6. What's changed? (updating assessments)

7. Who should we tell? (communicating findings)

Each question naturally leads to the next, creating the complete risk management process without using any jargon. You don't need to remember technical terms—just ask these logical questions in sequence.

Jowanza: That's elegantly simple. It also helps demystify risk workshops, doesn't it?

Risk Doctor: Exactly. Instead of saying "we're running a risk workshop"—which can intimidate people—you say "we know what we're trying to do, so let's get together and talk about what could affect us, then figure out which are the big ones." Same workshop, but now everyone knows what's expected and feels comfortable participating.

Jowanza: Let's talk about risk appetite, another area where jargon can be problematic. How do you explain this concept?

Risk Doctor: I start with physical appetite. Right now, I'm hungry for dinner—I can smell my wife cooking. But if you ask "how hungry are you," how do I quantify that? I use units of food: "I could eat a big steak and ice cream" or "just a light salad will do."

Risk appetite works the same way. It's an internal drive to take risk to achieve goals, but we express it using units of risk. I might say "I'm prepared to put a million dollars on the line for this goal" or "losing a million would devastate me—I'd only risk five thousand dollars." We're using dollars, time, or other measurable thresholds to express that internal appetite.

Think of it like a cliff edge. You don't want to fall off, so you put up a fence. But not on the edge—before the edge. And before the fence, a warning sign. These are your risk thresholds protecting you from going over.

Jowanza: How do leaders develop these skills? Is this standard training, or does it require specialized development?

Risk Doctor: There are certainly more resources available now—courses, books, videos, consultants, coaches. But you can't beat experience. We all have our own experiences as leaders. We try things, they work or don't, and the key is learning from both our scars and our successes.

I see people with awards on their walls who never reflect on how they got them, and people with scars who never think about how to avoid similar cuts. We need to examine both our failures and successes more deliberately. All the seminars and books in the world can't replace learning from your own experience.

Jowanza: Of your many books, which would you recommend to leaders wanting to improve their risk management capabilities?

Risk Doctor: For leaders specifically, I'd recommend "Taming the Risk Hurricane: Preparing for Business Disruption." It uses hurricanes as a metaphor for business crises. We monitor hurricanes, track their paths within cones of uncertainty, prepare for impact, protect ourselves when they hit, and repair afterward. All these elements translate perfectly to business disruption.

Each chapter takes an aspect of actual hurricane management and translates it to business settings. It's about 150 pages—quite accessible—and gives leaders practical tools for preparing for major uncertainties.

For risk specialists, there's "The Risk Management Handbook" with 24 chapters by domain experts covering technical risk, financial risk, cyber risk, and more.

Jowanza: What's the biggest risk myth you'd like to bust?

Risk Doctor: That the aim of risk management is to remove risk. That's completely wrong. We're not trying to remove or even reduce risk. The aim is to help you take risk—specifically, to take the right risks safely.

You can't remove all risks. Even wrapped in cotton wool at home, you risk starvation. So we must take risks, but we want to take the right risks, not stupid ones that lead to disaster. Risk management is about risk-taking, not risk avoidance. We help people take the right risks in the best possible way.

Jowanza: That's a fundamental reframe. What's the most important question boards should ask about risk?

Risk Doctor: I recommend two questions about awareness and action: "What do we need to know that we don't currently know?" and "What do we need to be doing that we're not currently doing?"

These questions help identify the uncertainties not currently on their radar and determine what actions they should take as a result. If boards can ask these questions and surround themselves with people who can help answer them, their lives become much easier.

Jowanza: Looking at emerging risks, what areas have you most intrigued?

Risk Doctor: I'm fascinated by existential risks—threats to humanity's existence. Climate change, artificial intelligence, biosecurity could combine in dangerous ways. But I'm equally interested in risks of parenting. My grandchildren are the same ages as your children, and navigating parenting is hugely uncertain with tremendous stakes. There are serious threats and fabulous opportunities, and I'm interested in how risk-based thinking can help raise children to reach their full potential.

Jowanza: With so much intersecting uncertainty—AI, climate change, geopolitical instability—what frameworks can leaders use for these massive, interconnected challenges?

Risk Doctor: The seven questions work at every scale, from global human existence down to raising kids or running projects. Whether we're talking about humanity's survival or business growth, we ask: What are we trying to do? What could affect us? Which are the big ones? What will we do about it? Then we implement, review, update, and communicate.

It's the same framework, just applied at different scales with different stakeholders and different consequences.

Jowanza: Where can readers find more of your work?

Risk Doctor: The website is risk-doctor.com, and the best learning resource is my YouTube channel called "Risk Doctor Video"—just search for that. There are a couple hundred videos organized in playlists covering different aspects of risk management. But honestly, I care less about selling books than helping people apply these concepts in practice.

Jowanza: Dr. Hilson, this has been incredibly insightful. Thank you for sharing these practical frameworks and for helping demystify risk management for all of us.

Risk Doctor: My pleasure entirely. Remember, risk management is everyone's job, and it's about taking the right risks safely to achieve what matters most to you.

Watch the whole interview on Risk Doctor's YouTube channel:

Dr. David Hilson's work can be found at risk-doctor.com and through his extensive video library on YouTube. His approach to making risk management accessible and actionable has helped organizations worldwide navigate uncertainty more effectively while pursuing their most important objectives.

You can also listen to the full conversation in Jowanza's podcast space at Industrial Risk: Beyond the Blueprint.