Strategy is the cornerstone of every successful business. The strategy of a strong company is well-rooted and clear. If only working with strategic (or business) risk was so straightforward! As you’ve learned, it is one of the murkiest forms of risk. Strategic risks can fly in from any place at any time, and individual sources are hard to pin down. Recurring risks take on different forms each time they appear. In addition, “strategic risk” tends to serve as the catch-all for every form of risk that can’t be directly measured or easily observed.

When dealing with strategic risk, companies need to be able to identify which parts of their business strategy will create volatility into the future. You’ve seen how to identify strategic risk—broadly, anyway—but it is the toughest of all risks to forecast and to analyze in any given situation. Fortunately, there are ways to get it done.