by Michael Smull
July 2013
Managing any risk begins with learning what is “important to” the person as well as what is “important for”, and helping to find a good balance between them. Often risk is significantly diminished when our understanding of what the person wants deepens and we find reasonably safe ways for the person to get it. In other instances understanding how important something is leads to better ways to support the person. Critical to managing some risks is realizing that no one does anything that is “important for” them unless there is an aspect of it that is “important to” them. In the absence of cooperation we are reduced to using coercion – and that increases risk.