Playing it safe in the world of business is not something that will always get you far. Of course, a more conservative approach can make your business’s position more secure. But that’s not necessarily what matters most in the long-term. If you want to find success, you will need to take a few risks and gamble a little along the way. Read on to find out what kind of role risk taking should play in your workplace.
Risks Should Always Be Calculated
When you take risks in your workplace, they should always be calculated. Taking risks for the sake of taking them is not the kind of approach that is going to help your find success in business. In fact, it would be downright stupid. So, every risk should be weighed up for its pros and cons. What could happen to the business if the risk is pulled off and things go well? And what is the worst case scenario if the risk backfires on the company? When you have assessed all of these things, you can make a call that is dependent on the reality of the situation.
Threats Should Always Be Mitigated
As well as calculating risks, you should mitigate threats. Taking risks doesn’t have to mean allowing things to go wrong just because you didn’t put the right measures in place to begin with. Safeguard the business from the start, and then you can take further risks in the future. But taking risks doesn’t mean taking risks with the very survival or structure of the business. So, make the premises as secure as possible, and put the right online security measures in place. Use disaster recovery solutions if things don’t turn out well, to put things back right quickly. When you can do that, your business will be in a much better position.
Encourage Your Employees to Gamble and Be Brave
It’s likely that your employees will be the ones who are doing the actual risk taking inside your business. So, it’s up to you to set them free and let them know that they can succeed and take risks. You have to have real trust in them if you want them to do this, though. So, you should teach them how to take risks and make their own judgment calls. (There’s a difference between allowing employees to take risks and be reckless.) Allowing them to be brave will help a lot because they will be let loose and able to reach their full potential. That could turn out to be a great thing for the business. I am always an advocate of the following: if you have hired the right people, for the right positions, then let them use their talents to their full abilities.
Risk Taking Has to Go Hand in Hand with Accountability
When people are taking risks in your business, they also have to be accountable for the actions they take. These two things have to go hand in hand if you want your business to take risks in a way that is manageable and sustainable. Failing to do this will mean that people are free to take risks without actually feeling the consequences when bad decisions are made. That’s not a good way for any business to operate, so make sure you avoid that kind of situation arising. Foster a learning environment where people are not afraid to be accountable but learn from mistakes and grow.
Risk taking is hard, particularly when things are going well – why fix something if it’s not broken right? If you have the knowledge in hand (knowledge is key), then it will give you the facts/information & therefore the confidence to take a perceived risk for a potentially greater reward.