Who are the leaders that drive innovation? It’s not the ones that sit back and takes no chances. A lot of us have tendencies that incline us to avoid risk. It’s much easier to take the safe path. And, honestly, there’s nothing wrong with being safe. But just as being safe reduces your risk of failure, it also reduces your risk of success. Innovation requires the ability to embrace risks where there is potential for payoff. Who are the leaders that drive innovation by embracing risk? They include people like:
Business owners cannot build innovative businesses by being risk averse. They take financial and personal risks.
Innovative sales people have to go out every day and risk rejection in order to sell their products. You cannot sit at home (or at your desk) and expect customers to call. If you are easily upset at being told no, you won’t be innovative in this area.
Corporate leaders didn’t get there by keeping their head down and doing precisely what their bosses asked of them. They looked for new opportunities. They suggested new paths for the business. They made decisions that perhaps the rest of us wouldn’t make, because others might think they are stupid. They didn’t go home at night and complain that they weren’t being promoted. They asked for promotions, spoke up in meetings, and put themselves in the path of rejection every day.
Innovators didn’t achieve genius status just by drawing one picture, designing one ad campaign or auditioning for one play. They succeed because they recognize that they have something to offer and they do not give up. They show their portfolios. They play their violins for audition after audition. They seek out feedback, teachers and mentors to show them where their mistakes are and what they can do better.
How do you embrace risk? Have you achieved innovation by understand risk potential?
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