Big-company CEOs almost never complain to me about employees who take too many risks. They almost never whine about a workforce that's busy with new initiatives at the expense of the core business. And they don't complain when people stand up and fight for ideas, standards, and quality that they absolutely believe in. But they almost always talk about people who play it too safe, who avoid risks, and who are dooming their company to mediocrity and, ultimately, death.
What are you going to do? Risk the sharks in the water, get your brand-new Lacoste shirt wet, and go for a swim? Or grab a can and start bailing, even though you know this baby's going under? What will it be? The guillotine or the rack?
By the way, the last time I visited my parents in Buffalo, I drove by the Carousel Snack Bar. It's closed -- bankrupt, I think. And I bet that spending those last few years on the rack was no fun at all.
Seth Godin (sgodin@fastcompany.com) is the author of "Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends into Customers" (Simon & Schuster, 1999).
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