Il Rinoceronte Grigio – The Gray Rhino arrives in Italy

Many thanks to ANIMA Asset ManagementROI Edizioni, and Salone del Risparmio for a wonderful launch of the Italian edition of The Gray Rhino in Milan May 17, 2023.

Il rinoceronte grigio: Come prevedere e affrontare i pericoli ovvi che spesso ignoriamo

Woman holding a book next to a near life size replica of a rhino; background is graphic representing rising temperatures of earth 1890 to present and logo of asset management firm Anima
Event announcement with photo of a woman and of a rhino on the road facing viewer. "Michele Wucker -scrittrice e strategic advisor -17 maggio 16:15 Sala Gold - Rinoceronti Grigi: Comon non farsi Travolgere dai rischi che oggi sottovalutiamo - Michele Wucker, Claudia Colly, Maria Pia Quaglia, Alessandro Melzi d'Eril - ANIMA"
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Three women sitting on stage in chairs in a panel conversation

You Are What You Risk Is Now in Paperback

We’re delighted to share that You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World is now available in paperback in addition to the existing hardcovere-bookdigital audiobook, and audiobook CD formats.

Interested in getting copies for your team or clients? Get in touch about bulk purchase discounts along with bonuses like a customized book club, virtual fireside chat, workshop or other interactive ways to help your organization and customers improve their risk relationships.

Learn why you take the risks you do (or don’t) and how to use these insights to seize more opportunities and avoid common pitfalls; to work better as a team; to communicate better with clients, investors, and other stakeholders; and to feel more confident making decisions amidst uncertainty.

Apply key takeaways to avoiding stereotypes in investing, recruiting, promoting, managing, and leading. 

Download the Readers Guide HERE.

Choosing You Are What You Risk as a book club selection? Email for more information about support for your book club.

Endorsements

“As we all deal with multiple 21st century risks… it’s important to stop and recognize that each of us defines and manages ‘risk’ differently, based on an almost unlimited number of influences. That’s what author, TED Talk star and former think tank executive Michele Wucker says in her ground-breaking new book, You Are What You Risk.” ? Forbes

“You Are What You Risk introduces a new vocabulary for talking about these threats. Everyone has a personalized “risk fingerprint” that describes what kind of risk-taker they are, shaped by their personality, upbringing, and experiences. Strengthening your “risk muscle” can help you make good decisions.  Wucker’s focus zooms in to examine personal predicaments and zooms out to global crises, analyzing how people wrestle with choices and uncertainty.” ? The Grist

“A game changer for day traders.” — Kim Ann Curtin ? author of Transforming Wall Street: A Conscious Path for a New Future

“There’s a huge need in the business world to better understand the human factors behind how we perceive and evaluate risks, and there’s no better guide than Michele Wucker. Drawing on the stories of compelling risk-takers, practical research, and proven strategies, You Are What You Risk treads essential new territory for executives who want their organizations to be innovative, creative, and industry leaders.” — Danielle Harlan, author of The New Alpha: Join the Rising Movement of Influencers and Changemakers Who Are Redefining Leadership

“The world is complex. But if we can’t be aware of all things happening everywhere all the time, can we at least have a framework for understanding what risks loom large and small in our lives, and start to think rationally – as individuals, companies, governments, and societies – about how to respond? You Are What You Risk delivers that story, that framework, and that action plan.”
  — Parag Khanna, author of Connectography and How to Run the World

“This is an important book, one that you’ll be talking about and thinking about for a long time. It’s a chance to understand how to make better choices about the lives we’re busy building.” — Seth Godin, author THE PRACTICE

“As Silicon Valley illustrates, risk attitudes and behaviors are at the heart of why organizations and economies thrive or head for disaster. In You Are What You Risk, Michele Wucker explores the dynamics behind individuals’ and companies’ relationships with risk, from personal experience to cultural values to policy ecosystems. Her original insights and practical recommendations will help readers choose healthy risk-taking over dangerous missteps in business, life, and the world.”

  — Deborah Perry Piscione, author of Secrets of Silicon Valley and The Risk Factor

“Whether you’re an investor, entrepreneur, of simply trying to forge your career strategically in any field, you’ll benefit from Michele Wucker’s innovative, clear-eyed approach to taking wise risks and navigating uncertainty. This book will help you to get from ordinary to extraordinary.” — Laura Huang, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Author of EDGE: Turning Adversity into Advantage

Podcasts and Webcasts with Michele

Interested in a deeper dive on Michele’s thoughts on a particular topic? Check out these recent podcast episodes organized by subject.

Updated June 1, 2023

Book Podcasts
You Are What You Risk on Next Big Idea Club Book Bites (download app to listen)
You Are What You Risk with The Chris Voss Show
YOU ARE WHAT YOU RISK Book launch “at” The Book Cellar in conversation with Amy Guth
Why We Ignore Risk on The Rewired Soul with Chris Boutté
Bonus Episode: Risk Management for Entrepreneurs and Writers on The Rewired Soul with Chris Boutté
Anne Janzer’s blog and podcast
You Are What You Risk on The Innovation Show with Aidan McCullen
The Gray Rhino on The Innovation Show with Aidan McCullen
You Are What You Risk with Dan Hill on New Books Network

Business Podcasts

NEW! Dealing with Risk in a World of Uncertainty on The Melting Pot Podcast with Dominic Monkhouse, April 11, 2023
NEW! Women and Risk: Changing the Narrative, CAPSTRAT Womens Forum webcast, March 8, 2023
All Things Risk Podcast Episode 188 with Ben Cattaneo, January 11, 2023
My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Episode 633 with Andrew Stotz, December 19, 2022
Innovation, Opportunity and Risk – InnovaBuzz Episode 548 with Dr. Jürgen Strauss -Australia’s #1 Innovation podcast, November 9, 2022

Newstalk Radio with Bobby Kerr/RTE Ireland, November 5, 2022
Risk, Gray Rhinos & Black Swans on The Lead-Lag Report with Michael Gayed, September 24, 2022
Reignite with Ainé Kerr/ RTE Ireland, August 20, 2022
The Gray Rhino in Reinvention on The Reinvention Show with Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva and co-host Sherri Sutton
The Barry Moltz Show
The Price of Business with Kevin Price
Small Business Advocate with Jim Blasingame
Technori with Scott Kitun on WGN radio
SME Strategy with Anthony Taylor

Business Continuity and Disaster Preparedness Podcasts
Disaster Zone Episode 41: Personal and Organizational Risk Management with Eric Holdeman
Safety and Risk Preparedness with Christian Hunt

Behavior, Career and Personal Growth Podcasts
Climbing Gold: Captain Safety with Alex Honnold
Climbing Gold: Spotting the Gray Rhino (Exploring Risk Fingerprints in Alpinism) with Alex Honnold
Ask a Decision Engineer with Michelle Florendo
Be That Lawyer with Steve Fretzin
A Life in Full with Chris Stout
Dan Hill on New Books Network
Choose the Hard Way with Andrew Vontz
Human Risk with Christian Hunt: Michele Wucker on You Are What You Risk
FlexJobs Webinar: Risk and the Future of Work: How to Thrive Amid Uncertainty
Flip the Script with Alina Costache and April Rinne
What You Need To Know About Risk on People First! with Morag Barrett
Portfolio Careers Podcast with David Nebinski

Climate Podcasts
New Climate podcast
Two Experts Offer Personal Solution Paths Amid Complexity and Inevitability on Sustain What? with Andrew Revkin
Electric Ladies podcast with Joan Michelson

Current Events
The Economist Radio with Tom Standage
Emerging World with Afshin Molavi
The 2022 Doomsday Clock on Sustain What? with Andrew Revkin
The Big Questions We Face in Coming Months with Amy Guth on Crain’s Chicago Business

Finance, Insurance, and Markets Podcasts
The Purse Podcast with Jana Hlistova
Airmic Talks
Steady Trade Episode 200: Discover Your Risk Fingerprint With Michele Wucker
IBTalk with Paul Lucas: Why You Are What You Risk
Populyst with Sami Karam: You Are What You Risk, with Michele Wucker
Invest Resolve with Mike Philbrick
Black Swans, Gray Rhinos, and Tigers..Oh My with Michele Wucker Chicago Derivatives Podcast/RCM Alternatives
Wall Street Coach with Kim Ann Curtin

Leadership and Governance Podcasts

NEW! Unpacking the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse, Billion Dollar Moves with Sarah Chen-Spellings, April 18, 2023
NEW! Bank Board Insights Series Part II: Risk Governance with Contributing Guest Michele Wucker on Travilian Next with Indra Elangovan, April 18, 2023
NEW! A Leadership Beyond podcast with Tom Rosenak and Adrienne Guerrero, March 28, 2023
Advancing All Women/NextUp with Sarah Alter of Next Up, Sara Pew of UberEats, and Chelsey Alexander of PharmaPacks
DCRO Risk Governance podcast with David Koenig
How to Make Better Decisions on Partnering Leadership with Mahan Tavakoli
How Risk Empathy Impacts Team Performance on Empathy Edge with Maria Ross
How Can Individuals’ Risk Personalities Affect Global Risk Management and ESG Adoption? Boardroom and Beyond with Lyndsey Zhang
The Ethics Experts with Nick Gallo

Technology and Security Podcasts
OODAcast: Michele Wucker on Identifying and Confronting the Obvious Risks of Gray Rhinos with Matt DeVost
Dark Rhino Security with Manoj Tandon
Hacker Valley Podcast with Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings
The Risk Episode: Black Swans, Grey Rhinos, Angels & Demons on 8th Layer Insights with Perry Carpenter
Information Security Forum ISF Podcast with Steve Durbin

Most recent update: June 1, 2023



The Best Novels for Understanding Haiti

The brand-new website, Shepherd, asked me to share some recommendations related to my first book, Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispaniola.

I was intrigued by the story of the book-loving founder, Ben Fox, who launched the site in April 2022 after deciding there HAD to be a better way to find books than relying on algorithms. So he started reaching out to authors for their recommendations.

Below are five novels that together give a good overview of the Haiti, with a particular focus on the mid-twentieth century onward. I prioritized books that either were written in English or had excellent translation. I also chose books that can be easily found, because who wants to be intrigued by a book and then frustrated that they can’t buy or borrow it? Unfortunately, that knocked several worthy candidates off of the list.

So, without further ado, here is my annotated list of the 5 best novels for understanding Haiti.

Also check out my list of the 5 best novels for understanding the Dominican Republic.

Risk Awareness Week

Join me alongside many of the world’s leading risk management practitioners for Risk Awareness Week 2022 from October 16-23.

Sign up for my workshop “The Art of Risk Fingerprint Forensics” launching Tuesday, October 18th.

Use THIS LINK for a special discount of 50% off any or all workshops.

ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP

How can we make good risk decisions without understanding the often unspoken influences on how we perceive and respond to dangers and opportunities?

Understanding the reasons behind why each of us –and those around us— see and respond to risk and opportunity the way we do will help you to make better choices. To identify underlying biases and counter them, start by analyzing individual and organizational risk fingerprints: the combination of innate personality or organizational culture, past experiences; and the environment, processes, and habits you create. This session helps you to become more aware of your team’s risk fingerprints and optimize your risk culture by taking them into account.

Learn about some of the surprising reasons -like what you had for lunch or the mix of people in the room- that affect your ability to handle risk wisely. Take away insights about how a diverse set of risk fingerprints can improve your risk taking. Use these ideas to improve teamwork and negotiation skills through risk empathy.

NEW Microlearning Course: What’s Your Gray Rhino [Personal Version]

Many readers have told me how you used some of the ideas in The Gray Rhino in your personal lives: health, finances, career, elder care, and more. I’m delighted to share my brand-new micro-learning course that helps people to tame those big, looming issues you’ve struggled to face.

Hosted on the innovative Gnowbe digital platform, the course is broken down into ten sessions with bite-sized lessons and exercises that you can do on your mobile device or computer.

This course helps you to recognize the obstacles to dealing with known challenges and develop and execute strategies to overcome them. By the end, you will be able to:

1) Identify and combat cognitive biases that get in the way of dealing with known challenges;

2) Improve your decision-making skills;

3) Develop a concrete, actionable plan for prioritizing and managing the risks you face;

4) Shift your mindset from Can’t to Can;

5) Turn adversity into an asset

Learn more and order the course here: https://gnow.be/suf42m?land=1

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY: Click the “buy” button on the link above and use early bird code 0U1XGB6 for 50% off through November 30, 2022.

DCRO Institute Recognizes Michele as a Qualified Risk Director®

Michele is known for coining the term “gray rhino” to focus attention on and counter leaders’ surprising vulnerability to obvious, probable, impactful risks.

“You will not meet a more thoughtful, articulate, and innovative thinker around the role that risk plays in our daily lives than Michele.”— David R. Koenig, President and CEO of The DCRO Institute

The DCRO Institute, a global nonprofit focused on bringing risk expertise to the boardroom and c-suite, announced today the award of the prestigious Certificate in Risk Governance® to Michele Wucker of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Concurrently, she is approved to use the Qualified Risk Director® designation.

Michele is the founder of the Chicago-based strategic advisory firm Gray Rhino & Company. A globally recognized expert in risk as a core strategic element of board and executive work, Michele coined the term “gray rhino” to focus attention on and counter leaders’ surprising vulnerability to obvious, probable, impactful risks. Her influential, eponymous global bestseller brought gray rhinos into the daily lexicon of risk management professionals. She most recently authored a sequel, You Are What You Risk, which looks at influences on risk perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.

Michele is a faculty member at the DCRO Risk Governance Institute. She is also an advisor to IRM India, the think tank Preventable Surprises, and the climate-tech start-up Climastry. A 2009 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, she leads the YGL Board Service Initiative and has served on the Forum’s Expert Network and Global Futures Council on Frontier Risks. Michele earned her Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, her bachelor’s degree in French and Policy Studies from Rice University, and the Harvard Kennedy School certificate in Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century.

“I have had the distinct pleasure to work with and come to know Michele since before we launched the DCRO Institute,” said David R. Koenig, President and Chief Executive Officer of the DCRO Institute. “You will not meet a more thoughtful, articulate, and innovative thinker around the role that risk plays in our daily lives or the success we can bring as executives and board leaders in our organizations. We’re proud to be associated with her and to have her so deeply committed to this work,” he continued.

“The DCRO Institute’s philosophy of positive risk taking rightly emphasizes value creation, not just the potential for loss that comes to mind for many people when they think of risk,” said Ms. Wucker. “The Certificate in Risk Governance® requires holistic, forward-thinking across legal, environment, financial, technology, sustainability and other areas that are essential to risk management and business success.”

The Certificate in Risk Governance® is awarded to those who have completed The Board Members’ Course on Risk® – an intensive 17-course education program and evaluation. The curriculum is designed for current and aspiring board members who seek to advance the governance of risk-taking at their organizations and those who interact with boards. Taught by some of the world’s leading figures in risk governance, the program features lessons by nearly 50 board members, c-level executives, and well-known authors from five continents. No course on risk for board members as robust as this – depth, practicality, and global expertise – exists anywhere else.

Qualified Risk Directors® have gone through a rigorous evaluation process, demonstrating their expertise across business, risk, and leadership, and having sound educational backgrounds that combine to bring skills to the boardroom, unlike most.

The fundamental Duty of Care for directors around risk is to ensure that our organizations take risks well in pursuit of our goals and ambitions. This course furthers the fulfillment of that duty. Candidates may enroll in the Certificate in Risk Governance program by visiting https://courses.dcroi.org/collections?category=CRG.

The 5 Best Books for Understanding the Dominican Republic

The brand-new website, Shepherd, asked me to share some recommendations of books related to my first book, Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispaniola.

I was intrigued by the story of the book-loving founder, Ben Fox, who launched the site in April 2022 after deciding there HAD to be a better way to find books than relying on algorithms. So he started reaching out to authors for their recommendations.

Below are five novels that together give a good overview of the Dominican Republic, with a particular focus on the mid-twentieth century onward. I prioritized books that either were written in English or had excellent translation. I also chose books that can be easily found, because who wants to be intrigued by a book and then frustrated that they can’t buy or borrow it? Unfortunately, that knocked several worthy candidates off of the list.

So, without further ado, here is my annotated list of the 5 best novels for understanding the Dominican Republic:

Also check out my list of the 5 best novels for understanding Haiti.

Once you’ve read the list, take some time to explore Shepherd, which has many wonderful lists. Here are just a few:

Here are recommendations by 21 authors for their favorite books on Latin America.

Recommendations from Russell Crandall on the 5 best books on US involvement in Latin America.

Recommendations from Daniel Loedel on the 5 best books of Latin American magical realism.

When you find some that you like, order them from the links on Shepherd to support their good work.

And keep visiting! Ben and his team are adding more books and lists every day.