As I continue to bask in the afterglow of the incredible New England Patriots Super Bowl victory (#4, just in case you have lost count,) there are so many post-game thoughts swirling in my head.  Many of them relate to the many decisions and choices made during this game – and other games of this magnitude – and their impact on history.

There’s no doubt that the one decision people in Seattle will debate and agonize over for decades is the decision to throw the ball instead of handing off to Marshawn Lynch…thank you Darrell Bevell! But, there were many others that might have had equal importance and impact had the outcome gone differently. In New England’s case, there were two “non-decisions” that had they lost, would likely be discussed and dissected with equal fervor here.

Both involved Bill Belichick. One was his decision not to challenge the spot of the 1st down on Jermaine Kearse’s catch in the 1st half. – If he wins that challenge, which seemed likely based on the replays, Seattle has to punt, they don’t tie the game and complete the momentum shift heading into the second half.

The second came at the end of the game when Lynch ran the ball and was stopped on the ½ yard line and the clock continued ticking away for 40 seconds, with every second taking away a chance for Tom Brady to lead the team back in case Seattle scores – and another few minutes off of my life. Along with millions of other New England fans, I’m yelling at Bill to call time out, but he apparently didn’t hear me. But, without the luxury of time for consideration and debate of other options, Seattle rushes into a questionable play call that makes a previously unknown rookie defensive back from West Alabama University a New England hero and the recipient of free drinks in New England for the rest of his life. Luck or calculated brilliance? Given the outcome, Bill gets the benefit of the doubt here and it’s the latter.

Outcomes are most often the ultimate determinant for debate about the decisions we make in business as well and that’s understandable. What’s interesting (and also needs to take place more than it does) is consideration of the potential impact of the decisions and choices we make not to do something. We make these types of calls all the time. In the case of commercial real estate operations, this is particularly true when you think about operational risk management programs. I often hear (quietly) from CRE executives I speak with that there is a little bit of calculated “rolling the dice” with regard to choosing not to spend money or time on enhanced operational risk programs relative to the likelihood  of a substantial event happening.  You can certainly make the argument that there’s little you can do to prepare for the “Black Swan” type of events that have the most impact on businesses anyway, so why bother? Again, we make choices like this all the time, so while I’m not critical of the decision, or non-decision, I do think it’s something to think about.

Building Engines is giving you one way to do that this week and to benchmark your CRE operational risk management efforts against those of your peers. Keep any eye out for the release of our “Guide to Managing Operational Risk,” our 2015 Survey Benchmark Report. It’s a great way to see where you stand on this critical part of your business.

While the choices you make are unlikely to solicit the kind of scrutiny that takes place in a Super Bowl, they certainly have implications on your business and in the case of operational risk, on the well-being of your staff and occupants. I hope you take a few minutes this week to review the survey results and compare them to your programs.

And in case you were interested, the Duck Boat Championship parade starts Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.