Risk And Opportunity

image: 12by30.com

I recently did a project for an NGO. Two projects, actually. The first was a data entry software that does analysis too. The second was creating visualizations/charts for their business plan document. They were impressed and discussed future engagements with us as they are expanding and working on a big project that cuts across Africa and the US.

I had a personal chat with the director's right hand man and it was mostly about the opportunities that lie ahead and being prepared for it. He gave me a lot of personal advice. That in business, three things matter: 

1. Integrity
2. (funny, I've forgotten the second one), and
3. Energy

That we've obviously got the last two. But the first one is revealed over time and is the most important. Without it, everything else crumbles. Then he recommended I read the yearly World Bank's World Development Report (WDR). Especially the 2014 one which is a 362 page report on Risk and Opportunity.

I am yet to read it fully, but from the pages I have read through, I find it a very eye-opening report. It explained from a broad perspective how opportunities are always intertwined with risks. Then it gave live case studies of how people move ahead by managing the risks rather than avoiding them.

You can download the report here: World Development Report Archive

We don't only miss opportunities when we totally avoid risks but we also open ourselves up for other set of risks and drag behind others on the road to development. The people making the most progress in life are the ones taking on the biggest risks. They are the ones going after the big opportunities that stand behind the risks others avoid.