“How do you best manage risk?” “Operate in full awareness of risks and opportunities.” The “great recession” has brought renewed focus on managing risk. There is no one best approach. Each company should tailor its program to address its unique circumstances. Yet, there are some common principles to consider. Risk should be viewed broadly. Risk and its constant counterpart—opportunity—exist in every decision, every operation, and every situation. The goal is not to avoid risk, but to operate in full awareness of risks and opportunities, managing them to best serve the company. With risk properly understood, the entire management process is in the risk management business. The entire corporate culture must be attuned to risk. All personnel should have the obligation to report and escalate risk that arises within the sphere of their authority. Neither insensitivity to risk nor fear of speaking out can be tolerated. If employees fail to raise an issue, they have failed to do their job. In Beckman’s law department, we keep an inventory of all of the ways legal risks can arise. We list every executive, committee, dispute, transaction, project, external constituency, and key area of law. And for each item, we assign one person to be principally responsible for the legal issues associated with that item. This assignment list leads to a monthly reporting mechanism that allows me to survey risk throughout the enterprise and to hold specific individuals accountable for its management. Having good processes is a start. A healthy respect for risk is just as important. Even if you anticipate a risk, or identify it early and develop appropriate plans to address the risk, your plans could fail. Even as you focus your attention on what you believe to be the most important and immediate threats, others can develop quickly. Your best defense is Arnold A. Pinkston constant vigilance. Your worst enemy is hubris—a sense that it’s all under control. Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Each month, K&L Gates LLP presents Top of Mind®—a leading in-house lawyer’s take on key issues shaping business and legal strategies. For more Top of Mind features, please visit our website at www.klgates.com and click on the Top of Mind icon. Beckman Coulter, Inc. Brea, California