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How to take risks and make an effective decision

The personal journey from being unemployed to getting hired needs to have two main foci:

1) Awareness of one’s skills, characteristics and targets and

2) knowledge of and coping strategies for one’s emotional and practical obstacles.

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The goal of Life Management Skills is to sharpen the participants’ self-awareness so that they

1) become attentive of what they wish their work life to consist of,

2) are aware of what they have to offer to employers and colleagues and

3) are able to cope with the challenges, that life in general and life in unemployment specifically expose them to.

Having a job and a steady paycheck is a safe existence. Being unemployed in a changing society calls for a re-thinking of employment. It can be difficult to choose new ways and even more difficult to pursue dreams. The goal of this element is to challenge old ways of thinking and redefine the consequences of making new types of choices.

After this process the participants will be able to answer the following three questions:

1) What am I most afraid of and are my fears real?

2) How do I live with uncertainty?

3) What will it take for me to try something new and unknown?


1. STOP AND ASK

Don’t do anything purely in the service of courage. Ask yourself: What am I doing and why am I doing this? This simple approach can help build the muscle of self-awareness. Balance the desire for boldness with business acumen. Weighing the risk/reward of your actions can increase your odds.

 

2. SEEK OUT A NEUTRAL MENTOR

A useful person to give you feedback is a powerful ally. Even more important is to solicit that feedback from someone who is neutral—who is uninvolved in the outcome of your decision (e.g., not a partner or coworker). A neutral mentor increases your chances of receiving unbiased feedback.

 

3. DON’T JUST WIN, MAKE THE RIGHT PLAYS

It’s easy to get caught up in the end goal. Even more important than winning the game, however, is the successful execution of every play. Focus on the success of each step in launching and scaling your business as opposed to purely the end objective.

 

4. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Business decisions often include a number of options, each associated with different levels of risk. Weigh the risk/reward of each option to identify what straddles the line between feasible and fulfilling.

 

5. ALWAYS REASSESS

With each success or failure, reevaluate your decisions. If you’re diligent, you will likely see a pattern. Are you too focused on making big bets so that you appear bold? Or do you appreciate the importance of the smaller bets until that opportune big move comes along? Assessing your results will help you fine-tune your decision-making.

 

As a leader, you’ll need to instill courage throughout the organization to keep innovation alive and ideas fresh. However, it is important to assess whether your actions reflect blind obedience to the desire to feel courageous or reflect sound and wise business decisions.

Once you’ve read the text on the topic, it’s time to test your knowledge.

Solve the following practice exercises!

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