Risk aversion remains rife in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but this approach is dampening corporate competitiveness and putting much-needed innovation on the back burner. In major companies, vigilance over risk and auditing practices has increased at the expense of putting time and effort into competitive strategy, innovation and its inevitable companion, calculated risk-taking. The president and vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales, Fred Hilmer, argues that organisations now need to lose the attitude that every loss is a problem, and policymakers should be enticing them to innovate.