When you’re afraid, you can’t see all your options. Fear narrows perception.
“The fear of the consequences is making it so that we can’t see all the optionality that we have.”
The VP Example
A vice president wanted to start her own company but was scared of failing. Joe asked:
- If you fail in 2 years, are you more or less hireable? More—more skills, more experience.
- What about your ability to succeed in a big company after? Better.
- What’s the average lifespan of a VP at your company? 3-4 years.
So: get fired as VP or fail as CEO. Which is actually riskier?
The “safe” choice wasn’t actually safer. Fear just made it look that way.
The Trade We Think We’re Making
We think: safety vs. risk We’re actually trading: the known vs. the unknown
“We are choosing perceived safety over risk. We are thinking we will be safe if we don’t make any action. Which is just simply not true.”
Inaction has consequences too. The “known” path has its own risks.