Risky Business

The difference between blazing a trail and following a path has a lot to do with taking risks and knowing how to put the blinders on to your external environment. Sure, there are the situations where all the indicators are in your face that you should not do something, and you do it anyway and fail. It might look foolish, but it is the only way to really hit the mark. Personally, I think life would be boring without risks. Not careless risks, but calculated risks that can be tipped with hard work and some creativity – and maybe some smaller fun risks.

This came to mind today as I was reading a Business Week article from May 2001 which said that “Apple stores won’t work” and that they need to focus on the retailers they are working with. "They are the most secretive company I've ever done business with," says one top retailer. "They should let the news leak out, to convince the world how exciting their stuff is. That's how everyone else does it." The article went on to say: Maybe it's time Steve Jobs stopped thinking quite so differently.

Imagine how bad the people felt that read this article and sold their shares in Apple? OUCH

My favorite example of just running with your gut is the movie “Star Wars”. 20th Century Fox was so sure Star Wars was going to be a disaster that they came within a matter of days of selling off their stake in the film as a tax shelter. Positive feedback from an advanced screening made them change their minds, and the profits from the film ended up saving the studio from bankruptcy. George Lucas carried out his vision that everyone questioned and the movie franchise ended up bringing in $4.3 billion dollars.

If 20th Century Fox didn’t take this risk it wouldn’t be around anymore.

What’s your big risk going to be? I’m working on finding mine.