Unleash the Power of Adhocracy in the Face of Emerging Risks

Board Perspectives: Risk Oversight, Issue 134

Emerging risks are newly developing risks that cannot yet be fully assessed but could, in the future, affect the viability of an organization’s strategy and business model. A risk-savvy culture sometimes needs an informal adhocracy to identify emerging risks in a timely manner. The term ‘‘adhocracy’’ has evolved to describe an organizational approach that cuts across normal bureaucratic lines to capture opportunities, solve problems and get results.

This issue of Board Perspectives offers six suggestions on how management can work toward such a culture and, in doing so, inform the board’s risk oversight.