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About
IN EVERY ISSUE
1.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Confusion Costs More Than You Think
2.
Publisher’s Message
Risk as a Path to Possibility
3.
FROM THE EDITOR
Understanding and Embracing Risk
Calendar of Events
4.
FROM THE EDITOR
Understanding and Embracing Risk—
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Clare Kelly, MS, CPSM
Clare Kelly, MS, CPSM, is Principal Consultant at fuseignite and a member of SMPS Colorado. She is an insightful, multi-disciplined marketer for firms that impact the built environment. Clare aligns thoughtful marketing strategies and tactics to each client's unique business development goals. She brings a never-ending curiosity to client relationships and projects, seeking to uncover opportunities and create a spark that will ignite growth for all.
Sets You on the Path to Strategic Thinking
During a recent Teams call, the Marketer Editorial Committee was brainstorming around the topic of risk. The discussion turned towards the need to reframe risk as an integral part of life and not something to fear or avoid. As Wally Hise noted, "People deal with risk every day. We may not call it risk, but it's inherent in our lives. There is always a downside to any choice. We are always managing risk."
Marketers and BD professionals might think, "Risk is not my domain." However, as Craig Park points out in "The Marketer's Risk Radar," both qualitative and quantitative risk are within our purvue. Formerly the sole responsibility of contract managers, legal counsel, risk managers, and firm principals, when A/E/C growth professionals learn to embrace the full spectrum of risk, we become valued strategic contributors. When we take the initiative to understand the risks our firms face daily and integrate our insights around these challenges into strategic thinking and tactics, we are working to minimize risk. We are also contributing to the growth and expansion of our roles in this industry, much like newly minted SMPS Fellow, Jen McGovern, who continually advocates for "Marketing as a strategic partner."
If you are avoiding the topic of risk at your firm or shying away from things you don't understand, take steps to increase your knowledge about those topics. That action will begin to minimize your discomfort. "Stress and worry tend to be higher before you act. Without action, all you can do is worry. Once you begin, fear shrinks as you start to influence the outcome." James Clear, Atomic Habits.
Our contributing writers fearlessly explore the topic of risk in this issue of the Marketer.
In Risk as a Strategy Lever, Fawn Radmanich points to recent research by the SMPS Foundation, which indicates "the difference between stagnation and growth lies in how firms and individuals approach risk—not whether they avoid it, but how they leverage it." Taking risks is no longer an option, but a necessity. This requires a different mindset. "Risk is a strategic lever, and marketers and business developers are in a position to help pull it with intent."
In The Marketer's Risk Radar, Craig Park asks, "How do you balance aggressive growth with intelligent risk assessment?" In his compelling article, he explores the cutting-edge development and use of AI-agentic digital twins as risk prediction tools. Not only for traditionally-understood risks like contractual issues and construction liability, but "pursuit risk, promise risk, reputation risk, relationship, and communication risk." Craig calls attention to the fact that "Marketing and business development professionals face critical risks that conventional systems ignore". He describes how to train digital twins to scan the market for these qualitative risks.
Crisis Communications, by Christine Nelson, explains how to align your firm's crisis scenario planning to your firm's values and how to identify and prepare your crisis team. She also gives readers tips on how to respond well in the moment and eight common crisis communication traps. CPMS can earn one CEU by reading this article and answering questions generated by HQ.
Call for Contributing Writers
Your voice, perspective, and experience are essential to maintaining the Marketer's position as the thought leadership journal for the A/E/C industries. Reach out to marketer@smps.com with article ideas or questions. Check out the themes for the remainder of 2025, along with deadlines for submission on the Calendar page in this issue.
Clare Kelly, MS, CPSM