Book excerpt: Savvy managers use contracts proactively to reach their business goals and minimize their risks. To succeed, these managers need a plan/framework and A Short Guide to Contract Risk provides this. It introduces the notion of contract literacy: a set of skills relevant for all who deal with contracts in their business environment. Arguing that contracts are too important to be left to lawyers alone, this short guide describes lean contracting, visualization and a number of easy-to-use tools that enable managers and lawyers to better understand each others' viewpoints and manage contract risks and opportunities. What makes this short guide from the authors of the acclaimed Proactive Law for Managers especially valuable, if not unique, is its down-to-earth managerial/legal approach. It is about understanding and using legally sound contracts as managerial tools for well thought-out, realistic risk allocation in business deals and relationships.