'You cannot stop the birds of worry flying over head,

but you can prevent them building nests in your hair'

                                                                                                Chinese Proverb

We manage amidst uncertainty.  And we have become highly skilful at identifying ever more layers of uncertainty.  Each layer seems to present us with further sets of risks to manage. 

The risks to our communities; the risks to service users; the risks of financial or service failure; the risk of service provider failure; the risks of system or partner failure; and the reputational risks attendant to any of these aforementioned failures.

The challenge is how best to manage given the nature of uncertainties that confront local communities and local government.  The Chinese proverb reminds us that rather than worry about everything, we should act to prevent problems that are close at hand and present palpable risks.  However, as public servants we also need to remind ourselves that our primary purpose is to prevent risks to the public not simply risks to our Councils.