Everyone has heard of the Tough Mudder event, and if you haven’t, check out their website here. This Saturday I will be participating in this torturous event. Why am I doing this? I’m not entirely sure, but I know it is probably bad personal risk management to do so.
If you are asking how this could possibly apply to risk management, just think human capital risk. Nothing speaks of risk more than jumping off a 15 ft. cliff, crawling through barbed wire, and a little electroshock therapy to finish it off. Some may say this is too many risks to take on; however, just think of the rewards. One, the money ($160) is being donated to a good cause, the Wounded Warrior Project. Two, after all the obstacles and miles (12) of running you get A BEER at the end and, I think, a T-Shirt too.
How else does this apply to Risk Management you may ask? It is important to consider the liability that Tough Mudder organization is taking on with over 5,000 people participating in this event. To minimize the risk to Tough Mudder, each participant is required to sign three different waivers transferring the risk and holding the event organizers harmless for any injury they may incur during the race. Thus, Tough Mudder’s risk is transferred downstream. This is something every company should consider when thinking of hosting an event. Each vendor or participant should be required to sign “a hold harmless waiver” that states that they (vendors/participants) are aware of the risk they are taking on while participating in your firm’s event which, in turn, will limit your organization’s liability. Thus, if you provide proper safety measures (besides obstacles themselves, of course) the risk is transferred downstream. Unfortunately for me, that means all of the risk on Saturday is transferred to me.
Perhaps I should have taken my own advice on considering all the risks and not have participated in this event, but then again, sometimes you have to take on a little risk!
If you would like to discuss risk transfer and risk mitigation strategies further, please feel free to contact The ALS Group for more information.
