When the average person thinks
of an entrepreneur or inventor,
they think of someone willing to take crazy risks.
You and I know
that isn’t true.
If we take crazy risks
with our financing and other scarce resources
and we fail,
the game is over.
Most entrepreneurs mitigate that downside
by conserving their resources.
However, most entrepreneurs,
by simply being entrepreneurs,
also take a big risk socially.
They are willing to personally wear the weird label.
They are willing to have their innovations
be considered weird
by their peers.
As Malcolm Gladwell shares*
“That is the risk profile seen
in many entrepreneurs and innovators —
operationally risk-averse,
but willing to take social risks —
to be outcasts and weirdos.”
Dare to be different.
Embrace the weird!
* CMA Magazine, March/April 2012