Remember the old saying, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Maybe this is sage advice, but putting thought into it, should I not consider the consequences? I could venture to jump off of a cliff, but is that smart? Possibly considering the outcome before taking the first step might be wiser. In technical terms, why not do a risk analysis before activating the venture?

Stephen Covey in his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” has a premise to consider, “begin with the end in mind." In other words, what is the endeavor going to look like at the finish line? This considers the potholes or pitfalls which might swell up in front of you on your road to success or possibly failure. Mr. Covey does not say to look for reasons to discourage you from starting the venture, but simply conduct a risk analysis before investing money and time into your activity. 

To emphasize, another of his premises is to be proactive. One cannot be proactive if you constantly look for ways to prevent or procrastinate about your target.

Risk is something none of us like to relish, but we live with it every day. We run risks each time we drive an automobile. We take on risk with our investments and this may be one of our first thoughts when the word is mentioned. We risk being bitten by a snake or pest of some kind and many others. Most of these are easily manageable. 

In considering risk, farmers are some of our biggest risk takers and we are so dependent on them for our nutrition. Every year our farmers plant crops and take a huge risk seeds will come up, there will be plenty of rain at the right time, pests and animals will not devour tender plants before harvest, tractors and equipment will not break down when needed, prices will support their families and various other dangers inherent in the nature of the business. In spite of all these risks, all the rest of us are glad they are willing to put themselves out there and bring their products to market for our consumption. For their reward, we are willing to compensate our agricultural partners for their managed risk. And thusly, our economic cycle continues.

Risk is something which should be carefully analyzed by everyone, including individuals, corporations, community governments, state governments and federal governments.

Just think of the professionals who have dedicated their careers to help us manage our risk. How about insurance agents, financial managers, funeral planners, security personnel and many others. All of these reward us by helping us preserve our hard-earned assets. Thank you for being there for us.

Standard contributor Don Alexander can be contacted at dalexander@southernstandard.com