Use Killer Facts to Make Risks Tangible
When decision-makers don't act on a problem, it's often because they underestimate its severity. Using concrete external examples (like fines or penalties faced by others) can make the risk feel real and urgent, helping to secure approval for mitigation measures.
THE IDEA
Consider External Sources of Information and ‘Killer Facts’
We discovered a problem with data privacy that required $200,000 to fix (IT system changes, training and monitoring). This needed to be approved at a committee meeting involving various senior managers, and there was a clear message that funds were limited. So, we looked at some of the data privacy fines levied recently on other companies. One was several million dollars for a similar problem. We used this information about the penalty on other organisations to make the risk and potential loss more real (sometimes called a ‘killer fact’ because it kills off arguments). As a result, we got approval for most of the extra budget we wanted. The theoretical risk became tangible and quantified rather than generic. Also, management could see, in terms of a potential news headline, how much greater the downside would be if they didn't act.
So, if decision‑makers don't seem to be taking an RCA issue seriously, consider the following: ‘Perhaps the reason they are not acting isn't that they are being stubborn. Maybe it's because they don't think the problem is that big.’ Unless you can join up the dots, and make an issue, near miss or risk more pointed, more real, decision‑makers will just make their typical cost/benefit trade‑off decision, in which the issue you are raising doesn't seem that significant; unless you show otherwise.
When to use it
Presenting a budget request for security or compliance improvements by citing penalties other organizations faced.
Convincing management to invest in safety equipment by referencing accident costs from similar companies.
Making a near-miss report more impactful by connecting it to a real-world disaster that nearly occurred.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Data privacy budget approval
A team needed $200,000 to fix a data privacy issue but faced budget resistance. They researched fines levied on other companies for similar problems (millions of dollars) and presented that as a 'killer fact.' Management then approved most of the requested budget because the potential loss became concrete and substantial.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a recent situation where you struggled to get buy-in for a risk mitigation. Could you have used an external example of a similar failure to make the risk more real?
Which external incidents are comparable to your situation, and what differences in scale, circumstances, or exposure limit the comparison?
What assumptions are you making about why decision-makers are not acting? Could it be they simply don't see the magnitude of the problem?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Beyond the Five Whys Root Cause Analysis and Systems Thinking (James C. Paterson)