Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Better safe than sorry, right? Not always, says author Helene Lerner. Too often we cheat ourselves out of our dreams by letting fear of failure keep us from taking what she calls smart risks.
In her new book, "Smart Women Take Risks" (McGraw-Hill, $22.95), Lerner offers a step-by-step method for evaluating whether a risk is worth taking, with exercises and examples to help with the process. The book also profiles women who have found success in their careers by taking calculated risks.
Women often have a hard time taking risks, says Lerner, who also maintains a Web site, www.womenworking.com, which offers career advice, networking and resources for women.
"I think what gets in the way for so many of us is our fears fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success and I am really looking to support women to move forward, especially when they know that it's a smart risk and it's right for them to do it," she says.
Lerner offers a brief outline of her six steps for evaluating smart risks.
1. Find a goal you're passionate about. "In approaching anything new, you're going to get a lot of nos to one yes," she says. "So you've got to find something that really charges you.
"Look at what excited you as a kid that you might have buried, that you haven't brought to the surface in a long time."
2. Find your risk quotient. Lerner offers a system for evaluating risks, which starts with making a list of the pros and cons of taking a certain action and assigning a weight to each of those factors. The second step is to consider whether the timing is right for taking action, and finally to evaluate whether the goal aligns with other values you have.
3. Team with winners. "Women tend to do a lot alone. We don't reach out for enough help," Lerner says. "Step three is all about having one or two people, perhaps more, who will be your own risk-taking network, your support."
4. Leap. "When you have a best bet, it's time to seriously look at taking action. ... The things that get in our way when we know logically and from the heart that it's right for us to do it are what I call the three demons: procrastination, perfectionism and second-guessing," she says.
5. Claim victory. "If you've got a best bet and it looks good, don't wait for people to acknowledge you," Lerner says.
"Women really need to learn to put themselves out there and put forward what they've done."
6. Keep taking risks. "Success breeds success. It's like any other kind of exercise. The more you exercise your risk-taking muscle, the stronger it gets. The more you don't do it, it atrophies."
---
(c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
