You don’t have to look far to learn that creativity and innovation are all about taking risks. Dreaming the unimaginable, turning things upside down, putting your ideas out there, trying something that’s never been done before, being vulnerable. As humans, we all have a fear of failure and when you take risks, failure is a real possibility. The flipside is that you also have the chance to succeed. Shine. Stand out. Break through. Be a hero. Increase sales. Forever change a business or a life. Feel proud, empowered and damn good.

Of course, we all have to be smart about when and where take risks. So do your homework, assess the possible outcomes and then be bold. Be fearless. Ask “what if?”

Success is sweet but failure can also be incredibly valuable.

Failure is where we learn. Not only do we learn what not to do next time, we learn a lot about ourselves and our teams. We learn about resiliency, toughness, humility and who we can count on in a tough situation. As the old saying goes, “life is inherently risky... there is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing”.