Ready, Set, Fail: Creating New Opportunities Through “Smart Risk” and Learning From Failure

Entrepreneurs, whether starting a brand new venture or fostering innovation in an established company, are often seen as opportunity seekers. But how do entrepreneurs balance opportunity with risk and the possibility of failure?

New venture and corporate entrepreneurs base their strategies on assumptions about an unknown future with the more ambitious of them hoping their guesses will be right – or that they can somehow adapt to the turbulence that will arise. Those who do not comprehend the downside of a decision – including failure – tend to take unnecessary risks. Conversely, many are afraid of taking on new initiatives required for success and instead choose a more conservative strategy of survival instead of growth. Both approaches often lead to failure. Sound opportunity creation requires “smart risk” along with effective management and growth from failure.

The strategic concepts covered in this executive course can help you foster future career and entrepreneurial success by teaching you how to better assess opportunities and risks, how to appreciate failure and present a framework you can use to manage risk and learn from failure. Additional resources provided in the course include a library of videos, documents, and tools that can be used to help you better assess any new business opportunity and the critical risks associated with it.

Topics Covered:

• Understanding the symptoms and causes of failure
• Analyzing and predicting risks associated with starting something new
• Recognizing the riskiest points in the lifecycle of a new venture or corporate initiative
• Becoming more resilient
• Knowing when to stop
• Learning from failure to increase your chances for future success