So, how does a person deal with uncertainty, especially in business? I find it best to keep it simple; start with the question you wish to answer, do light research, I make a list of things that can go right or wrong, then analyse your risk. You can do this by listing action items to improve your chances of a positive outcome effectively through efforts to limit the cons you’ve previously listed. When we finish this process, hopefully there is a clear winner. When there are still too many unknowns or the risk is too great, you need to move on. If the risks can be managed and the rewards are reasonable, it’s GO TIME! Beware! One significant challenge that can arise is when you become too invested or emotional about any particular decision. You should know equally well when pull the trigger to get started AND when to call it quits. This can be crippling because moving on or moving forward requires a level of comfort with uncertainty. Nothing is 100%
certain, regardless of the amount of research and planning. Learning to be comfortable with a certain level of risk will allow you to make deci- sions more efficiently. With time and hitting mile - stones, you will become more comfortable with the process and your risk tolerance may increase. The key is to work towards not being afraid to make these imperative decisions as it will always allow you to focus on the project you are fully committed to pursuing. Risk is different for each individual and the circum- stances surrounding them. When you can’t afford to lose, it is difficult to play the game. It causes stress, makes you question your gut, and over- think every detail and, unfortunately, often results in “analysis paralysis”. You’re frozen because you continue to analyze and seek certainty which will likely never come. You may know someone like this! After years of talking about starting a business or making an investment, they have yet to make the move. Sometimes this comes from
contentment with their current situation, it could be overanalysing of the endeavour, or it may be their aversion to risk. There is nothing wrong with being risk averse, it is not for everyone. In business, as in life, often your gut is the best indicator of what you should or shouldn’t do. Of course, analysis of the numbers is helpful to validate a decision, too. Sometimes, if you truly believe, when the numbers don’t work initially, you can make them to work with a few tweaks. Be creative and opportunistic. But we cautious with this as you don’t want to see the numbers with rose coloured glasses and be too optimistic as this is more like a taking a gamble which is not the best way to run a business… or your life for that matter. If it doesn’t feel right, it likely isn’t. I truly believe we have a gut instinct for a reason. It has allowed us to survive on this planet for thousands of years so use it to your advantage when making deci- sions and verify it with the numbers.
Life is too short to keep holding onto something that just will not work. Pushing a square peg into a round hole is not fun and never works. There are lots of great ideas our there, just keep looking and find something that works for you and your risk tolerance level. Thank you for reading my thoughts! I hope that one word or phrase helps you as you take on a world of uncertainty and make tough decision more easily.
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VOL 23 ISSUE 1 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 23 ISSUE 1
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