A Risk Management Framework That Actually Works (and Doesn’t Kill Growth)
How Smart Teams Handle Risk Without Slamming the Brakes on Progress
By Adil S. – June 1, 2025
🧀 Why Risk Isn’t the Enemy – It’s the Whole Game
Let’s get this out of the way: if you’re building something meaningful, you’re taking risks.
Risk isn’t a mistake in the code; it is the code. Every hire, every expansion, every ambitious launch — they’re all bets. The real question isn’t “How do we eliminate risk?” but rather “How do we navigate it without going overboard?”
The CFO — or whoever’s playing that role in your org — is supposed to be the grown-up in the room. The one who can see the fog bank while others are full throttle ahead. But also, the one who doesn’t slam the brakes just because there’s fog.
It’s a tough balance. And most teams fall into one of two ditches:
- 🏗️ The Over-Architect: Adds process on top of process until the company is drowning in red tape. Projects stall. People get frustrated. Ironically, risk increases because everyone is working around the system instead of through it.
- 🤠 The Wild West: Moves fast, ignores controls, assumes things can be fixed later. Until they can’t. (See: 2022 crypto exchanges, 2008 banks, or your cousin’s failed dropshipping empire.)
The sweet spot? Controlled risk. The kind that keeps momentum alive while keeping disaster at bay.
So how do you manage risk… without managing your team into the ground?
You build cheese.
🧀 Part I: What’s the Swiss Cheese Model?
It’s a safety concept from aviation and healthcare, but it works for business too.
Picture slices of Swiss cheese stacked together. Each slice is a control or process. The holes? That’s where risk sneaks through. But when layered thoughtfully, the holes don’t align. Meaning risk doesn’t pass through every layer. One slice catches what the others miss.
That’s the idea: you don’t need perfect controls, you need layered ones.
🎯 Part II: What Are You Actually Guarding Against?
Not everything deserves a full risk committee.
Start by asking:
- What would destroy the business?
- What would damage our brand?
- What would grind operations to a halt?
That’s where you build controls. Not around every minor edge case, but the stuff that could break the company.
🚨 Part III: Crisis Management ≠ Risk Management
Putting out fires isn’t risk management — it’s just survival.
A lot of teams only get serious after something breaks. That’s not managing risk, that’s reacting to it.
Good risk management is boring. It’s slow burns, not fire drills. It’s building systems that prevent chaos — not just scrambling when chaos arrives.
🛠️ Part IV: Building the Cheese – Controls That Actually Work
Great controls:
- Are lightweight
- Are easy to explain
- Actually get used
Examples:
- Pre-mortems before big launches
- Spending thresholds before a second approval
- Clear access controls (no, your intern doesn’t need admin rights)
- Playbooks for “what if X happens?”
You’re not trying to catch every issue. You’re trying to stop the big ones without strangling momentum.
💼 Part V: Why Finance Is in the Best Position to Lead
Finance has the visibility across departments, and the natural mandate to care about both speed and safety.
This is why CFOs (or operational leads in smaller orgs) are in the best position to drive this mindset:
- They understand constraints.
- They understand incentives.
- And most importantly, they understand risk vs reward.
Risk literacy should live with finance, not just legal or compliance.
⚠️ Part VI: When You’ve Built Too Much Cheese
If your team is complaining that “everything takes forever,” listen to them.
Too much process is a risk, not a solution.
The goal is not to eliminate risk entirely — that’s impossible. The goal is to control the right risks, and leave room for creativity and speed.
🧠 Final Thought: Risk Is a Competitive Advantage
Managing risk isn’t just about safety — it’s about strategy.
If you can take smarter risks than your competitors, you’ll win. You’ll move faster, break fewer things, and bounce back stronger when things do go sideways.
So don’t just build controls. Build cheese.
And make sure your team can fly — not just survive.
