Governance, Risk & Compliance: GRC
Watch Five Lessons about Third-Party Risk you can Learn from Reality Survival Shows


In reality shows on TV, alliances and relationships are core – players assess their peers and strategize to reach the finale and win big money. Alliances and voting play out as they figure out their environment, the third parties that benefit them, and those that could damage them. Everyone on the show is thinking about joint value – and many organizations could learn about third-party risk from how contestants approach the game.
In this on-demand webinar, SAI360’s Kelvin Dickenson is joined by featured speaker Forrester’s Alla Valente. They share insights, perspectives, and parallels to the challenges facing businesses evaluating third-party risk and how to be strategic, thoughtful, and practical in protecting your organization from third-party threats.
Figuring out who should be in your company’s alliance?
Areas covered:
1. Evaluate beneficial relationships
At the beginning of the reality show, it’s smiles all around and everyone is friendly to one another. Contestants are constantly asking themselves about the long term, “What’s the value to me” and are continually re-evaluating the strategy and relationships with potential alliances. Are they good at making fire? Do they consistently win challenges? How to assess which third parties minimize risk or increase risk?
2. Don’t allow someone else to take you off the island
In reality shows, contestants vote each other off to boost their chances of winning. Organizations must look at different aspects of the risk of every supplier and third party. How can you understand which third parties may present specific risks – reputation, cyber, operational, or financial? Are your relationships going to be your downfall?
3. Work with the cycle of relationships
Like handling the fallout of alliances and decisions during a reality TV survival game, contestants face a jury of peers at the end of the season. Businesses decide to terminate contracts or not engage with certain third parties, which may cross your path again – as a customer, a future supplier, in your boardroom, or an investor. How do you protect yourself, gracefully decline, or disengage with third parties? What about maintaining relationships when there are no further transactions? In this webinar we talk about how all third-party relationships are a cycle.
4. Don’t focus on one view of risk
It’s essential to focus on different risk domains. In survival reality shows, challenges could be physical, intellectual, emotional, or endurance. Third-party risk is broad, spanning operational, financial, resilience, privacy, and cyber security. Organizations must consider the breadth of risk challenges and be prepared to address multi-dimensional third-party risks.
5. Be an advocate for your third-party strategy
Organizations need to be ready before a crisis. This requires the skill to be a strong advocate, able to convince other people in your team – or your organization – on your strategy and the importance of your third-party network to be visible and understood so it’s in place before a crisis. To survive, winners create strategic partnerships, evaluate risk from multiple perspectives, and know how to secure and protect their strategy.
Please register to view our on-demand webinar: