is included in the final chapter of the book, as it aptly demonstrates a key theme of his derisking strategies for major initiatives.)
Wucker leans into the positive aspects of risk-taking, the benefits that might accrue from taking the risk, as much as the negatives. Some people focus on the negatives, other on the positives. And people focus on different positives and negatives. We all have a risk fingerprint, in Wucker’s words, a unique way we perceive each opportunity.
Unfortunately, the cognitive biases that mean we tend to ignore gray rhino risks unless we consciously choose to focus on them are also easy to exploit. Is something complex? We tend to avoid thinking about it, as Kahneman pointed out in his book. Complexity requires us to think slowly and carefully, and our brains are lazy. They’ll only expend that energy if there’s a good reason or we force them to.