What Kind of Risk-Taker Are You?
When I was getting my start in the business world, our department was run by a kindly boss whose descriptors might well have been "gentle" and "forgiving." However, he was nobody's fool and, despite his demeanor, he pulled no punches when people failed to meet his high standards.
One day, he called together all the managers and supervisors to his office for a chat after one member of the department had let an opportunity slip between their fingers. He then talked about taking risks.
OMISSION VS. COMMISSION
"There are two kinds of risks one can take in this company," he said, "risks of commission and risks of omission. Risks of commission occur when you make a bold and decisive stroke that may benefit the company and may in fact further your career. Risks of omission occur when, for whatever reason, you let an opportunity slip by failing to act upon it in a timely manner. This company would rather you take risks of commission and fail, rather than fail by omitting to undertake the risk of failure."
For me, a junior just getting her feet wet in the corporate world, his words came as a revelation, and even now, whenever the paper piles up and the detail work becomes overwhelming, I remember his words almost as an epiphany, and they give me the focus and direction to take the decision to move forward.
As my good friend and mentor, Dr. Nido R. Qubein, president of High Point University and chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company, points out in a recent newsletter:
"Success in almost any undertaking requires that you engage in risk-taking, and with each risk comes the element of fear. How you respond to the fear makes the difference between success and failure. If you cower before it, running for cover at the first hint of disaster, you will fail. If you meet it boldly, letting it motivate you to action, you will succeed."
ARE YOU FRONT STAGE OR BACK STAGE?
You have two stages to operate from. Some people try and stay
under the radar screen in the workplace and not attract attention. I
call this back stage sabotage, even though you may believe that
it is a safer stage to play on. Waiting for others to notice
your good work is more often than not a futile and self-defeating
proposition. You may not feel that you are being held hostage by
office politics but you are also not being recognized for what
you bring to the table.
As David L. Stern, Executive Vice President, Endocrinology at
EMD Serono Inc., wrote to me in a recent email: "Front Stage vs
Back Stage is about ownership and responsibility. Sometimes taking
ownership and responsibility also involve taking risk. I have
always felt that I would rather have one of my staff take responsibility for their actions, than to try to place or shift
blame to someone else."
Front stage puts you in the limelight; it forces you to be a
contributor, to be heard, and to take risks. It makes you face
the truths around what's happening outside of your realm of
responsibility. Yes, it can produce tremendous amount of stress,
but more likely a positive, energizing stress compared to back
stage where you have no voice, no plan and feel debilitated in
your role.
READ THE WRITING ON THE WALL
The corporate world of decision-making is composed of complex
and conflicting variables, however small, that can affect the
outcome of the marketing plan, the sales figures and the direction
and well-being of the company. Take Kodak, for example. Despite
the advent of the digital camera age, Kodak stood pat, thinking
it would sell enough film and chemicals to offset people
switching to digital cameras. Big mistake. While the company is
back on track, it took a number of years to recover from its
mistake of omission.
So what lessons do we learn from this?
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
Don't wait for complete certainty on an issue before making a
decision; it often arrives too late if it arrives at all. Better
that you act on clarity. Once you get a good idea, don't incubate
it, act on it. Work to make it happen.
I once coached an ambitious mid-level executive who had her
sights set on the C-suite, and had taken a position in her
company outside her area of expertise to increase her experience
base and prove that she had what it takes to be senior
management. This caused her a great deal of stress, as you can
well imagine. Her fish-out-of-water inexperience produced sleepless
nights, frayed nerves, and finally, complete and utter paralysis.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP
I recognized the corner she had painted herself into, indecision
from lacking experience in some areas, and not having the courage
to tough it out and ask for help for fear it would diminish her
in the eyes of her bosses. A truly self-defeating strategy that
could only end badly.
I am reminded of Lee Iaccoca in his Chrysler days who discovered
that one of his employees had ordered the wrong bolt for a car
model, a mistake that would cost the company more than a million
dollars. The following day, he came into Iacocca's office and
tendered his resignation. Iaccoca refused to accept it, saying
there was no way he would accept the resignation after having
just spent more than a million dollars in training.
My advice to you is:
UNLEASH POSITIVE ENERGY
First of all, fear, stress and risk-taking can be your friend,
not your enemy, as long as they unleash positive energy.
ANTICIPATE AND ACT
Second, not to make a decision is actually making a negative
decision. When hockey great Wayne Gretzky was in his prime, he
had the extraordinary skill of knowing what would happen next. People
said that Gretzky never followed the puck, but went to the place
where he knew the puck would be next. As his career shows, he
was rarely wrong.
LEARN FROM FAILURE
Third, the most important lessons we learn in life are those that
result from failure. People are very forgiving, as long as you
always try to be your best and act with integrity.
BE REALISTIC
And finally, while one's dreams and ambitions may look good on
paper, the working world does not play on paper; it plays on the
field of life.
Wishing you continued success.
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