PLNU Professors Weigh In on Taking Calculated Career Risks

Risk is a part of every business. No company would exist without someone at some point taking calculated career risks to turn their vision into reality. Without these people, nothing would ever improve, and the world wouldn’t get better. However, for most people, responsibility takes precedence over innovation. But it doesn’t have to. There’s a way to “balance both thinking with an innovative, entrepreneurial mindset and successfully changing your career outlook, while simultaneously making sure you don’t throw everything away,” explains the Point Loma Nazarene University blog. It’s all about learning how to take calculated risks.

To be successful, you don’t have to go all in and risk everything. According to Dr. Bruce Schooling, a Professor of Management at the Fermanian School of Business, the difference lies in the word “calculated.”

“Almost everything we do involves some risk and therefore, we are always making decisions based upon our level of risk aversion,” said Schooling. “What moves a decision away from recklessness is the amount of thinking we bring to bear upon the decision; a decision without thought would be reckless. A decision where the variables and possible outcomes are given reasonable and responsible consideration would not be reckless.”

The reality is that those who are successful in taking career risks tend to balance out their overall risk in other ways — but that doesn’t mean they don’t still fail. Dr. Randal Schober, an Associate Professor of Management at Fermanian, explains it this way, “Understanding that failure is a part of risk and often unavoidable is an essential component to being comfortable with risk.”

He goes onto say that almost every entrepreneur has failed more often than they’ve been successful, it’s just a matter of learning from their mistakes and moving forward.

“Only when you push the limits of what is possible will you be able to create new value and capabilities that will be awarded by market success,” said Schober. “With startups, I have failed numerous times with marketing strategies and targeted demographics, but the key is to immediately measure impact and modify or pivot as soon as possible.”

In the end, the best thing you can do it to be afraid to fail but then to do it anyway by taking calculated risks. And if you’re worried about how to get started, Schooling and Schober offer these six steps:

1. Broaden Your View: Schooling believes it’s important to be well-rounded when it comes to business and to have broad background information so you can see the potential pitfalls.
2. Vet Opportunities Wisely: Turn down good opportunities so you can pursue great ones.
3. Lead with Weakness: To go against the status quo, you’ll have to learn to speak up effectively without jeopardizing your relationships, it’s all about how you present your ideas.
4. Test the Water: Find out how far is too far for your business, and start by taking small risks.
5. Gain Market Feedback: “Customer and market feedback is the most critical variable that will determine the potential success of a business and correspondingly eliminate as much risk as possible,” said Schober.
6. Speak Now to Avoid Regrets Later: Learn to censor yourself less and express your ideas more.

regions: San Diego

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