The word “resilience” seems to be cropping up more and more frequently in the context of risk management. Insurers, brokers, consultants and academics increasingly use the term to call for a more targeted and realistic approach to risk management, and now political figures and even royalty have spoken of the need for resilience in risk management.

Last year, former U.S. President Bill Clinton called for cities to be made more resilient against climate change. And last month, Britain’s Prince Charles got in on the act, saying that sustainable development should be founded on resilience when he was the surprise keynote speaker at the International Insurance Society’s 50th Annual Seminar in London.

Most often, the term is used to describe how organizations should adapt their risk management strategies for natural catastrophes to focus on rapid recovery from the disasters rather than just damage prevention. Increasingly, however, it is also being used in other risk management contexts such as cyber risk management, given the near universal acceptance that attempting to prevent all cyber breaches is futile.

While the definition of risk resilience changes depending on who is speaking, the general thrust seems to be that complete risk prevention is unachievable, so organizations should focus much of their risk management efforts on what they need to do to maintain crucial operations and return to normal in the event of a disaster. For example, companies can build operations so that vital plants or facilities are spread over different geographic areas or have backup power supplies in place and secure for both main and alternative sites.

Many risk managers would argue they already incorporate re­silience into their disaster response plans. Simply having contracts in place with disaster response firms or local contractors, a long-standing practice, can go a long way toward building resilience.

But some in the industry are suggesting that efforts to introduce resilience should be taken even further and be integrated into financial systems. Last month, Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. issued a paper calling for companies to disclose their disaster risk exposures in their financial filings. The brokerage argued that in the 19th and 20th centuries, insurance standards and related financial rules drove significantly improved fire safety standards, and that similar results could be achieved by imposing regulatory requirements for the disclosure of disaster risks.

Whether this is achievable is open for debate, but discussions on resilience certainly give risk managers and risk management proponents a chance to shine.

Already central to discussions on risk mitigation and disaster preparation, risk managers should embrace the chance to become key players in the drive for organizations to become risk-resilient. With analytical skills and financial expertise, they are well-placed to take the initiative on resilience and develop their careers and their profession at the same time.