What is your "RQ?"

Risk. A word often spoken of, but how much do we understand it and how does it play into your life, your business, your ability to think strategically about the future of your business?

Webster defines RISK as

1: possibility of loss or injury

2: someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard

3a : the chance of loss

Therefore, when risk is involved with business opportunities and decisions, the outcome, action, or even INaction must be weighed. The interesting thing that I notice in the above definition are the words possibilities, suggest, chance. You must weigh potential outcome.

When beginning to think strategically, one of the factors to consider and steps to thinking this way is to evaluate your RQ - Risk Quotient. Similar to your IQ or EQ, your RQ affects your strategic thinking liklihood. Business courses can spend time on understanding "risk assessment" as does any insurance quote. After answering a series of questions, a computer can compute the risk associated with insuring an individual based on activities. Do you sky dive, fly an airplane, base jumping, or drive a motorcycle? If yes, an insurance company would be taking more risk for insuring you.

But, what's "Risk Assessment" in light of strategic thinking related to your business?  Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you begin to think strategically about the future of your business:

1. If you take [or DON'T take] proposed action...what's the WORST case scenario? Can you live with that outcome?
2. How far "out of the box" is this proposed solution? Will you have the backing of the rest of your company to implement?
3. What resources are available for this proposed action (financial, marketing, staff)
4. When evaluating the proposed action/decision - what's the impact on your client?

 Determine your RQ as a step in becoming an effective Strategic Thinker and Leader.

PS...Answers from yesterday's Mission Statement Pop Quiz:

• “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete." - NIKE
• "to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve." - DELL
• "To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people" - WALMART
• "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." - GOOGLE
• "To make people happy."  - DISNEY

How'd you do?