In business, risk is often perceived as always being bad, and it’s frequently forgotten that the other side of the risk management coin is opportunity.
In true Risk Management style, I did a quick risk assessment of the team behind the Firewalk. I’ve met Keith McKay from Steps For You a few times at the TalkBusiness networking meetings. A slightly twisted logic on my part reasoned that he must be good at what he’s doing otherwise he’d be out of business, the subject of numerous court cases and unable to show his face in the county.
Along with my fellow walkers, we met on an incredibly wet Saturday evening for our induction. Before walking on hot coals we needed to practice. On broken wine bottles, yes, the sort that are left over after a night out.
Having successfully walked on the broken glass, broken some arrows, our next (literal) step was outside for the coals. They were taken from the fire that had been stoked for the previous 90 minutes. The rain stopped for a brief while, the coals were laid out on a grass path, a deep breath and I put my best foot forward. The rest you can see in the video…
So what did I learn?
I learnt that I can overcome fear and trepidation and, with the right support around me, I can do things that I thought were completely outside of my reach.
Similarly, in business, we must explore boundaries to progress and grow our organisations. If a situation is daunting or even scary, it’s much easier to walk away from that challenge than to face it head on. However, with the right partners or suppliers around us, anything is possible.
To reassure – did I get burnt feet? No .. cold and wet maybe, but definitely not scorched. Would I do it again? You bet! You never know what you’re capable of until you try it.
So next time you think of risk just as a negative, consider the opposite and think about the opportunities that may exist if you put a foot forward …
