Risk, Resilience, and How to Find Opportunity in Upheaval

Association leaders don’t need a reminder that the ground is shifting. From federal funding reversals and regulatory uncertainty to economic volatility and political polarization, the disruptions are relentless—and they’re not coming one at a time.

The question is no longer whether associations will continue to face upheaval. Instead, it’s whether they’re ready to navigate and lead through it. The answer lies not in being better able to predict what’s coming, but in being prepared to think open-mindedly, challenge long-held assumptions, and embrace the opportunities that change brings.

The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty

RIMS CEO Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE, says the starting point for any association navigating turbulence is information—and lots of it. Effective risk management, he argues, is not about avoiding risk. It’s about making informed decisions in its presence.

“Risk is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, no business can succeed without taking risks,” LaBranche says. “Making informed, strategic decisions about risk can open the door to new revenue streams, innovation, and market growth.”

Jeff De Cagna, AIMP DAIG FRSA FASAE FNI.Dir, executive advisor for Foresight First LLC, draws a critical distinction between risk and uncertainty. Risk, he says, is quantifiable—the known unknowns that boards can assign probability to and plan around. Uncertainty is something different: a persistent condition of the environment that grows and wanes but never disappears.