French CaldwellFor Americans Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday because it involves eating, playing with an oblong leather air bladder, and being thankful for the blessings of friends, family and prosperity. Even with all the influx of family, it tends to be one of the least stressful holidays.
However, as risk management professionals we must be careful to not ignore the risks to a good holiday. Please share this Gartner Thanksgiving Risk-Adjusted Value Model TM with family and friends to ensure that your strategic goals and objectives for the holiday are met.
For those not in the United States (or Canada – which has the jump on us for Thanksgiving by a month), the Holiday Management process is critical to all cultures, so please feel free to adjust this index as necessary for other holidays. See the Gartner Business Risk Model for more examples.
Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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1 response so far ↓
1 Your Daughter November 23, 2011 at 8:26 pm
From an Intel Analyst point of view: Although I agree that the Turkey is the centerpiece to the meal and, therefore constitutes the greatest risk, other pieces of the meal must also be taken into consideration. For instance, do not forget the pumpkin pie incident of 2010 in which two of the four prepared pumpkin pies were considered unfit for outside exposure/edibility. Although not all the pumpkin pies were destroyed, the fear that was caused on the possibility that they could be was great and added to the possible risk of not having a complete traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Also, do not forget the risk that some relatives may be allergic to Turkey or may be vegetarian. This would mean an alternative would need to be made. This could be surviving on the other substance pertaining to the meal such as cranberry sauce and corn pudding in the case of the vegetarian or the sweet potato pudding in the case of the person who happens to be allergic to, well, everything. Given that there is only a PR risk in relation to the Vegetarian accidentally consuming Turkey, the risk of the person with allergies can be far more damaging to future Thanksgiving endeavors. Not only could it be bad PR, but also result in another lovely trip to the local hospital ER which would compile expenses for the entire Thanksgiving day. Depending on the severity of the reaction, an ambulance may also be included in theses expenses.
Therefore, it is my conclusion that although turkey is key to the meal, other aspects should not be over looked for their own risks and there may be other risks involved within the Turkey itself.
BTW, Dad, don’t worry; I’m not allergic to Turkey. Just the corn pudding, the stuffing, the bread, the cranberry sauce, the jam, anything with marshmellows, and possibly the salad.