FORTUNE... Favors the BOLD!


By Steven K. Haught, MBA

If you are a fan of the Star Trek television series Deep Space Nine, you may recall the commander of DS9, Star Fleet Officer Captain Benjamin Sisko saying those words… Fortune, Favors the Bold.  What was the context?

As he prepares to embark on a mission in a galactic war with rival empires, desperately short on resources, out numbered in star ships by 2 to 1, his facial expressions appear less than hopeful about the prospects of victory as he prepares to lead the fleet into battle.  Time for a “locker room” uplifting speech.

He turns to the crew of the star cruiser Defiant and begins speaking… "There's an old saying: 'Fortune Favors the Bold'. I guess we're about to find out."  The assault begins.  

Indeed, his words were prophetic of that days victory… Fortune did Favor the Bold and the Brave, as Sisko retakes Deep Space Nine.

There’s a business leadership lesson to be learned from the expression… Fortune, Favors the Bold.  

The American economic fleet of businesses are wounded, thrown off course, the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, and we wonder “ how do we get back what we once had?”  We feel out numbered, out gunned, by a disease we can’t easily defeat.

Business in 2020, post pandemic, is going to be a challenge.  The challenges will come in all forms and require a resolve in leadership, particularly from the office of the CEO, like never before.  

The boldness of business leaders has been a recurring theme in the business media for centuries. Think Bill Gates / Steve Jobs / Larry Page & Sergey Brin setting up shop in the garage with little more than an idea. Here’s the motif: a vision of the future compels the leader to take action, and nothing can deter them from achieving wealth and ultimate success.

Part of this business myth is true: you can’t get abnormal returns if you stick to normal behavior. 

Having an idea and exploring it in the face of uncertainty is the essence of business practice.  No time like now, to do just that.

If you want to achieve great things, you must take bold actions. Seeking complete security is the road to complete and lasting mediocrity.

Bold action alone is not enough.  You must know what you’re doing, for your actions to create the results you want. Bone headed decisions don’t build businesses.  You must know what you are considering is reasonable, is solid in concept and has a chance for success.

Imagine the courageous entrepreneur, armed with a business plan that proposes selling 20+ pound bags of dog food on the internet. No amount of bold action is going to compensate for the fact that shipping heavy objects is expensive, and customers hate paying for shipping when they buy online.

Bold… but also very stupid.  It happened. The CEO of Pets.com, one of the most spectacular tech bubble collapses make a bold decision that failed. While bold, the CEO didn’t fully understand what makes businesses successful. Sometimes you can have great ideas, but they fail.  You  learn these lessons the hard way.

This is one of the reasons I strongly encourage leadership “visioneering” in designing business growth.   It’s a process of seeing the business in all its essential parts and pieces, functioning from first sale to completed fulfillment before you actually start the business or enhancement to an existing enterprise.  Visioning mental models is the very best learning process that amplifies the results of bold people. 

If you have the courage to test a business idea, a little know-how, even if its in the conceptual visionary phase, goes a very long way.

Be bold, but don’t be stupid. Learn the rules and optimal strategies of the game you’re playing. Lady Luck or Madam Probability won’t let you win every time, but you’ll win more often than most.

YOUR FORMULA:  Accurate knowledge + bold action = a force to be reckoned with.

MORE tomorrow on the concept of FORTUNE Favors the Bold!
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