Show me an enterprise that seems to enjoy phenomenal success and I’m likely to find a leader, board and staff willing to take the kind of risks that lead to big results, big profits, often some big defeats, but in the end…a level of achievement that others are still dreaming about.
What’s your own comfort level with risk? Indeed, how willing are you to take the leaps that are crucial to the kind of future you want for yourself?
Here are some common thresholds people have that are prerequisite to their risk-taking and an idea about how to address them to your advantage:
1. “I need to have enough (fill in the blank) established before I can take any more risks.” Oftentimes the blank is filled with things like cash, inventory, staff capacity, number of clients, percentage of the market etc. It relies on the classic chicken/egg scenario: I will try and create more of what we need once we have more of what we need. If you think this way (a lot of us do), you can either (a) proactively get enough of what you feel you need to take some more risks OR defeat the idea in the first place: realize the risk-taking must come first.
2. “I will take risks once the people I trust most agree with my moves.”
If you find yourself dependent on the opinions of others (and especially if they are trusted advisors) your opportunity here is to work diligently to get these opinion-leaders to support your risk-taking. You are choosing to not make a move until they affirm it, so the obvious step is to get them on board. Of course you could always practice some moves based solely on your own judgment…
3. “I tend to take risks when I am hungry enough or the fear of staying put is higher than the cost of taking the risk.”
This is pretty a common threshold and, without getting onto a sidetrack about how our brains are wired this way… you might consider that if want something more or better…you ARE hungry after all. And if you play out the true cost of staying put for a too long, you might increase your fear enough to take action, even a leap of faith, today.
4. ”I am not (fill in the blank) enough to be putting myself out there just yet.” You have an excuse that is based on your idea that you don’t have enough training, or skill, or smarts, or experience etc. to put yourself and your company out there. You can either: (a) start to develop more of what you need right now…since you CAN get trained, you CAN get smarter, you CAN get more skilled, OR (b) realize how people and companies with less skill, smarts and experience have become highly successful anyway (secret: THEY decided to take some risks others were unwilling to take).
5. “I just don’t seem excited or motivated enough to get out there and risk falling down or facing rejection…”
I encourage you to SEEK INSPIRATION. Surround yourself with people (and places and things) who inspire you. Do you have people who are cheering you on, challenging you to do better, asking you why you haven’t taken those leaps yet? Do you live and work where there is an air of excitement about taking on new challenges and people around you are doing so regularly? If not…a change up in your environment and the people in it might make good sense.
Bottom Line: Consider your own personal thresholds about risk-taking and whether you need to get them adequately met, or abandon them so you can achieve what you want.
(This post was previously published in the March 2010 issue of Business Leader http://www.businessleader.bz/ )
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Written by Tom Plake
Topics: Shift Your Beliefs