Published January 30, 2015
I always look for trends as I find that the 80/20 of success comes from watching and proactively addressing trends. This week, it has been obvious that if we are NOT willing to take prudent risk, things are likely to go awry.
For example, if your sales forecast has been formulated and reviewed to the best knowledge of your organization, and it translates into x number of manufacturing employees at current efficiency levels, taking the prudent risk of hiring people even if it adds to near-term cost for a slightly longer-term return on investment is well worth it.
In another example, if you are hosting a significant event and have people flying in from around the globe (as news has spread re: the success of previous events), if you are not willing to absorb the prudent risk of hotel costs if an unexpected event occurs and rooms aren’t filled, you are likely to have chaos and unhappy participants instead of building on prior successes.
Be willing to be bold with prudent risk if you are interested in success.
One tip to implement this week:
Think about a decision you are shying away from making because you are concerned about prudent risk. There is a big difference between taking radical chances and assuming prudent risk. If the logical choice is to take a small risk for high reward, it is likely prudent risk. Think about the situation as if there was no one else involved – no manager to satisfy; no peer to appease; no politics involved. What is in the best interest of the company? What seems logical? If you need to spend a $10 to make $500, what is the logical choice? If you have to take the risk of upsetting a key employee to move core objectives forward, should you? It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Accept the challenge, take the prudent risk and minimize the downside (such as thinking about how to phrase it in the key employee’s self-interest). Success will follow.