Really Risky

I like to read westerns and spy novels.

There’s just something about a story of a man who can get stuff done, and doesn’t complain about it.

Right now I’m in the middle of a Robert Ludlum CIA adventure titled “The Ambler Warning”. Ludlum is best known for creating Jason Bourne (and Matt Damon thanks him kindly), but I’ve been a fan ever since The Apocalypse Watch gripped me way back in the 1900’s.

In The Ambler Warning, one brief conversation between a CIA analyst and his boss jumped off the page.

Boss: “Like you’re always saying, there’s a difference between risk and uncertainty, right?”

Analyst: “Well, sure. Risk is quantifiable. Uncertainty isn’t. It’s one thing to know there’s a fifty-fifty chance of something going wrong. It’s another not to know what the chances are at all.”

I agree with this 100%, but it’s not always easy to discern the difference in the moment.

Like when you want to fire up a marketing campaign, or make a new hire, or acquire a competitor, or pivot to another type of service offering.

But this is a helpful framework to keep in mind… is this next decision a quantifiable risk, or is it just completely and totally uncertain?

Stay risky... at least a little bit.

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.