Category: Risk Intelligence

How to recognize strategic vulnerabilities and opportunities in your business

Harmful Dietary Supplements, dietary supplement, supplement, health supplement, medical supplement, dangerous medicine, supplement industry

35 Potentially Harmful Dietary Supplements You Should Know About

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

“Be sure to take your vitamins!”

This is the message we hear starting in childhood: that supplements are an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

But despite a widespread belief that they are safe because they are natural, the truth is that some supplements can be quite dangerous. Rather than enhancing health, consuming them in high quantities (or in conjunction with other medications) could result in terrible health outcomes.

Continue reading “35 Potentially Harmful Dietary Supplements You Should Know About” →

My Experience at Washington State Medical Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting

Published on by Grace LaConte2 Comments

I had the pleasure of spending an entire day with physicians at the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) annual conference in Seattle on Saturday, October 12.

In addition to the fantastic speakers who talked about medicolegal issues, technology, and population health, I also heard about policy development with the House of Delegates and new legislative issues at the state and federal level.

Here are my take-aways from the experience.

Continue reading “My Experience at Washington State Medical Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting” →

MLM, Multi-Level Marketing, MLMs, direct sales, direct marketing, MLM company, persuasion, influence, psychology of persuasion, Robert Cialdini, marketing strategy

The MLM Persuasion Tricks That Convinced Me to Join

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

How do Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) and Direct Sales companies persuade so many people to join?

I will explain which 6 Principles of Persuasion were used to lure me into signing up… twice! …and what you can do to recognize the signs of a predatory company.

Continue reading “The MLM Persuasion Tricks That Convinced Me to Join” →

HBO, HBO Chernobyl, Chernobyl, Chernobyl documentary, Chernobyl disaster, nuclear fallout, nuclear disaster, USSR, risk management, devil's advocate

7 Things HBO’s Chernobyl Taught Me About Devil’s Advocates

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

What can we do to avoid a catastrophe like Chernobyl?

Although your business may not be facing problems to the magnitude of a nuclear plant meltdown, it’s still possible to completely miss the warning signs that the ‘wheels are coming off the wagon.”

I have found that the best way to develop a resilient response to disasters is by relying on the feedback of Devil’s Advocates.

Continue reading “7 Things HBO’s Chernobyl Taught Me About Devil’s Advocates” →

HBO, HBO Chernobyl, Chernobyl, Chernobyl documentary, Chernobyl disaster, nuclear fallout, nuclear disaster, USSR, risk management, devil's advocate

HBO’s Chernobyl, Risk, and the Devil’s Advocates who Kept Us Safe

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which affects millions of people to this day, is now available as a 5-part HBO mini-series.

Here is what it taught me about having the courage to speak up.

Continue reading “HBO’s Chernobyl, Risk, and the Devil’s Advocates who Kept Us Safe” →

communication, sexist, gender-specific, communication problems, communication risk, strategic risk

How to Avoid Communication that is Sexist and Gender-Specific

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

We are all familiar with terms that de-value us. Women are especially targeted in business language that is intimidating, bullying, and offensive.

In this post, I’ll share some phrases that are commonly used in business communication but which have the potential to be harmful to your brand.

Continue reading “How to Avoid Communication that is Sexist and Gender-Specific” →

Disclaimer, Analysis of a Disclaimer, Disclaimer Analysis, Direct Sales, MLM, Multi-Level Marketing, Network Marketing, analysis, strategic risk

Analysis of the Disclaimer from a Direct Sales Company

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

Direct Sales companies, also known as Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) and Network Marketing, are growing exponentially. (Check out a list with hundreds of MLMs around the world.)

But despite their popularity and far-reaching impact, the MLM business model is often predatory, unethical, and at times illegal.

In this post, I want to evaluate the Disclaimer of one MLM company to shed some light on how this model works, how these organizations view risk, and why you should proceed with caution.

Continue reading “Analysis of the Disclaimer from a Direct Sales Company” →

fear, fear response, responses to fear, leader, leadership, fear as a leader, Nice Girls, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Lois Frankel, Lois P Frankel, Dr. Lois Frankel

The 4 Responses to Fear as a Leader

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

What are you scared of?

As humans, we are biologically hard-wired to treat every perceived threat in an extreme way, with one of four reactions:

  1. Fight: go on the offensive, reacting aggressively to eliminate the problem
  2. Flight: avoid the problem by retreating to a safer position
  3. Freeze: shut out the problem by pretending like it’s not happening, or
  4. Face: confront the problem directly.

Continue reading “The 4 Responses to Fear as a Leader” →