Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first. – Frederick B. Wilcox.
My word for this week is risk. Jackie Robinson, one of the greatest baseball players (and base stealers to ever play the game, broke the color barrier 77 years ago yesterday. He was a man who took calculated risks on and off the field. Wilcox, who died long before Robinson’s historical day on April 15, 1947, would have enjoyed watching him play.
Like baseball, in the world of business, risk is a constant companion. It’s tempting to view it as a threat, but risk is also a source of opportunity. Every choice that involves risk also opens a door to potential growth and innovation.
I think of risk not as an obstacle standing in front of my company but as potential yet to be realized. Yes, stepping out of my comfort zone and into the unknown can be daunting, but history shows us that the most enduring business owners are those who adapt and grow. They are the ones who look at the horizon not as a limit but as an invitation.
Every risk you take is a step towards learning something vital about your market, your team, and yourself. These lessons strengthen your resilience and prepare your business to manage future challenges more effectively.
When it comes to risk—assess it, understand it, but don’t shy away from it. Use risk as a tool to sharpen your decision-making and to help get you to where you want to go. When in doubt, remember this excerpt from a poem by Erin Hanson:
“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask, “What if I fall?”
Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?
