How much of what your business does is out of fear versus taking risks and confidence in the future?

There is always a case for mitigating risk, but right now many organizations seem to have curled into a ball and turned the light out.

Problem is, success often requires taking a risk and investing in your own success.

Walk into any big corporate and ask a member of staff what they do. Inevitably once you make suggestions they will say “I couldn’t possibly do that, not here”.

The latter part is telling. They are not saying “bad idea”, they are saying “would never be allowed”.

Policies can be a force for good or they can put a handbrake on your growth. One of the reasons smaller companies can outrun the larger ones is because decision making is streamlined.

Unfortunately in tougher economic times even the small companies put blocks on their own efforts. They think they are sticking with “tried and true”, but actually they just dare not try anything outside their comfort zone, and that comfort zone shrinks with every passing day.

You have to spend money, you have to keep learning, and you absolutely need to keep testing and experiment. If you keep trying to win yesterdays market then you will find yourself antiquated.

Just keep in mind that spending money should be an investment, that means with a healthy return. Your online marketing, your staff, your contractors, your education, all should return more value than you spend. If not, cut that expense.

When you pay good money for staff, do not chain them down with meaningless bureaucracy meant to protect yourself from blame or mistakes. Same goes for yourself. People and businesses grow when you are allowed to do things that fail and failure is seen as a learning experience rather than a mortal wound.

Taking risks and investing in your future does not mean being reckless, but it does mean doing new things and monitoring the results.