Risk management does not work for complex risks

Summarizing the key arguments against applying conventional risk management in complexity:

1. We cannot foresee risks in complexity, and consequently, we cannot manage what we cannot see or understand.
2. In complex settings, risk isn’t a quantity that can be managed and reduce. It is a product of the wider interactions, interdependencies and relationships within the system.
3. Risk management is often aimed at the wrong direction – the known, obvious and foreseeable risks.
4. The artifacts of risk management create the illusion of controlling complexity which is often unrecognized risks in itself. The analysis, metrics and plans can lull organisations into complacency.
5. Risk management can lead to rigidity and inadequate focus on agility, sensemaking, adaptation and resilience.