We all have slightly different attitudes to risk. Some people are naturally risk-adverse, which puts them in danger of missing out on a great opportunity because they were too scared to take a chance.
Others blindly default to ‘I’m sure everything will be fine’ without actually perceiving any risk at all.
Surely there’s a middle ground?
A neighbour of mine is currently building an extension to his house. The problem is the fact that he’s been building it for more than a year, and it looks completely different to what he has planning permission for.
He’s now facing a situation where he’ll probably have to take down half of the building at his own cost.
Underestimating the task ahead
The length of time is understandable: we’ve all underestimated how long tasks take, especially in areas we have little experience in. However with regards to the planning permission, my neighbour could have saved himself a lot of time and money if he had actually considered the risk of change:
- The Risk
Your neighbours realising you don’t have planning permission and objecting. Or Planning Officers following up after the planning permission has been granted
- Severity of the impact
Having to destroy what has been built is pretty severe
- Likelihood of situation occurring
Neighbours tend to notice when a 5×20′ white roof extension appears that wasn’t there before
- Chance of Detection
You’ll know that is has occurred by the letter from the council but by then it will be far too late.
Having considered the above, the decision seems obvious. The risk is unacceptable. Fortunately there’s an obvious solution: get planning permission for everything you are building!
The same is true in business. Only with a considered approach to risk can you overcome this tendency towards extremes and make informed, risk-based decisions.
