Every good organization around the globefirmly espouses the benefits of sound risk management.Certainly, the recent financial crisis has underscored thisimperative. Yet it is remarkable how elusive an effectiverisk management function can be for many organizations. Thisis definitely the case for many of the companies the authorshave worked with as part of the corporate governance programin the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Thissmart lesson is based on the recent work with an investeecompany to help put in place a simple but effectiveenterprise risk management process. This was part of a widercorporate governance improvement effort for the company. Italso draws on experiences we've had with othercompanies and provides lessons for any organization tryingto figure out how to actually make risk management work.