From product scandals to data breaches to natural disasters, companies are dealing with constant risk. But how they prepare for those risks can make the difference between riding the roughest wave — or drowning in it. The field of risk management, once an afterthought for many companies, is getting renewed attention with a new book by two Wharton professors who want to help business leaders think more deeply about worst-case scenarios. Michael Useem, management professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management, and Howard Kunreuther, professor of operations, information and decisions as well as co-director of the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, recently spoke with the Knowledge@Wharton show on SiriusXM channel 111 about their book, Mastering Catastrophic Risk: How Companies Are Coping with Disruption.
An edited transcript of the conversation follows.
Knowledge@Wharton: How did the two of you come to collaborate on this book?
Howard Kunreuther: I think we came to do this because of our interest with respect to leadership and how risk is dealt with by corporations. We were very fortunate to have the late Jay Fishman, CEO of The…
