One of the missions of my team is help projects identify and steer clear of risks.
So, recently I picked up the book Better by Atul Gawande. An extraordinary book, he details the risks inherent in hospitals in a way that is very relatable to any profession. In his introduction he lays out the "three core requirements for success in any endeavor that involves risk and responsibility."
"The first is Diligence, the necessity of giving sufficient attention to detail to avoid error and prevail against obstacles. Diligence seems an easy and minor virtue, you just pay attention right? But it is neither. Diligence is both central to performance and fiendishly hard."
This statement is so true and so unacknowledged, I bolded it. Good project management demands diligence, even though sometimes it's boring. So what? Do it anyway.

"The second challenge is to Do Right. In a basically human profession we are always troubled by avarice, arrogance, insecurity, misunderstanding"
Check your ego at the door.

And the last requirement for success is Ingenuity or I would call it Innovation. Gawande says it's often misunderstood:
"It demands more than anything to recognize failure, not paper over the cracks, and to change. It arises from deliberate even obsessive reflection on failure and a constant searching for new solutions. These are difficult traits to foster -- but not impossible ones."

I haven't finished this excellent book, but I know I'll write at least one more entry on what Gawande has to say.