Take the Leap (but Manage the Risk a Little)

There are some days when our business decisions feel kind of like this. The choices we have to make, especially when we are leading the charge, don't always feel safe, and often feel like a blind leap. The judgment calls that leaders often have to make usually come with imperfect information, and require a healthy amount of trust and faith.

At the same time, we can almost always minimize the risk of the leap we are taking, by putting in some safe guards and some back up plans.

This is a picture of our daughter jumping off a cliff into the Colorado River during a family trip to Grand Canyon last summer. It was a huge moment of courage for our young lady, and she mustered the strength to take the leap into the icy cold Colorado 35+ feet below the cliff. She was braver than either of her parents, who politely declined the “opportunity” to take the leap.

But what may not be obvious in the picture is that despite the obvious risks, there were lots of safeguards built into her leap... a river guide on a ledge right near the water's edge... three other guides waiting for her in the river... and her parents standing right behind her giving safety reminders and words of encouragement.

It still felt like a huge leap for her... and it was. But we also minimized the risk with some safeguards. Was the risk down to zero? Of course not.

The business lesson here is that many choices we make will feel like huge leaps with no guarantees. And if we never take any leaps of any kind, we won’t grow.

But while we are getting ready to take those inevitable leaps, we can also, most of the time, calculate the risk of the leap, and minimize it a bit.

Don't be afraid of the leap. Leaps create growth. But always try to minimize the risk, at least a little bit, before you jump.

Have a great day.