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It was a Friday evening. Kids’ vacations were just around the corner. Wifey and kids and me were talking about the vacation plan.
“Daddy, let’s go to New Zealand this time” said the younger one. “My best friend went there last year. They took a car over there and drove. Puhleez , daddy …”. I was wondering if we had made a mistake putting the younger one in a very elite school.
“Stupid, New Zealand is far way. It costs a lot also. Let’s go to Eastern Europe. There is so much to see there.” The elder one was as usual being kind and also trying patronise the younger one.
“Let’s drive to Ooty (official name Udhgamandalam. A hill station at 2,240 meters elevation in Tamil Nadu, India). The drive is scenic. There are many places to see too. The Botanical Garden, lake, zoo.” Wifey was brutally pragmatic as usual. She also had the last word.
“But dear, remember we went there by bus some years back? Although it was an over-night ride, I could still feel the hair pin bends. I am not so confident driving at night. I get goose pimples” Me.
“Simple, we drive only during day light. We won’t drive at night at all.” Wifey had a solution to all my problems.
“Listen now, last time when we got our car serviced, they said, they could retrofit air bags. This is the right opportunity to get that done. Why don’t you leave the car at home some day in this week? I shall get the air-bags done”. Wifey had phenomenal memory.
“I think our hospitalization insurance would be valid still, but let me double check that to be sure”.
Well, by then the kids’ patience had worn thin. Someone turned on the telly and that was the end of the meeting.
Dear reader, do you see some profound lessons about risk response strategies in this story? Can you match the columns in the following table?
| Action | Risk Response Strategy |
1 | I drop the plans to drive much to wifey’s dismay and decide to take the bus instead | Mitigate |
2 | Wifey gets airbags retrofitted | Accept |
3 | Insurance policies are in right order | Avoid |
4 | I cannot get much leave from my office. I decide to drive during night to save time | Transfer |
Mukund Toro is an independent Project Management Consultant who has worked with more than 1000 project managers. His 20+ years’ industry experience in software and telecommunication includes working in various capacities from project manager to director across multinationals, product and service companies and government research organisations.
