“A ship is always safe at the shore - but that is not what it is built for.”
― Albert Einstein
I recently had a conversation with a dear friend – someone I truly respect, even admire. The upshot was that my friend was advocating playing it safe; I felt the risk was worth it.
So who is right?
Here’s the deal: We are both correct.
Sometimes the wise move is to play it safe. Therefore we should do so.
Other times, the risk is worth the mission for which one is taking the risk. Therefore we should do so.
In reality, there are no simple answers to such matters. If "risk vs. no-risk" situations were simple, everyone would simply take the obvious action step.
Yet as we all know, life is not like that. It’s more involved than that. Life involves choices, that involve risk assessment, that involve leadership decisions, and therefore, involve leaders.
And that is why we need leadership. As I said last week, now more than ever.
Is the risk worth it? Or not?
“...maybe sometimes it's riskier not to take a risk. Sometimes all you're guaranteeing is that things will stay the same.”
― Danny Wallace, Yes Man