The ultimate example of purposeful risk-taking
“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”
–the historian Luke (emphasis added)
Financial risk taking is one of my favorite topics and an area in which I have lots of experience. For example, here is my recent blog on risk aversion. My attraction to this topic flows naturally from many years of leading organizations that routinely take financial risk including corporate banking, project financing, venture capital, and investment management. Having invested a significant amount of capital in the entrepreneurial company I once led, I can also relate to it personally.
One of the principal lessons I have learned from the investment profession is that taking risk is good provided one takes it on purpose. Taking risk is good because it is the gateway to reward. In other words, no risk equals no return. Or, quoting author Stephen Covey, “The greatest risk is the risk of riskless living.”
One of the principal lessons I have learned from the investment profession is that taking risk is good provided one takes it on purpose.
Taking risk on purpose has two dimensions. First, it means the prospective reward is commensurate with the risk assumed. To better understand this concept, let’s take the example of buying a lottery ticket for $10 hoping to win the $10 million prize. Given the potential payoff is one million times the amount bet, this might strike the ticket buyer as a fair bargain. However, assuming the lottery raises $50 million through the sale of 5 million tickets at $10 each, the “expected value” of the reward is $2 per ticket. Thus, based on probability theory, this risk greatly exceeds the prospective payoff.
Second, on purpose implies that we have identified all the major risks associated with the opportunity we’re considering. In addition, we have carefully assessed each individual risk including quantifying where possible. Over the past few years, I have frequently delivered a presentation titled “Taking Risk on Purpose” in which I discuss typical risks I encountered when investing in private companies and lessons learned, sometimes the hard way! Here is a link to a talk I gave at the Christian Embassy in Ottawa Canada when I served as Executive Director of LeaderImpact.
Risk taking in the investment business is a great example of purposeful risk-taking. However, it pales by comparison with the ultimate example: the risk Jesus Christ took on purpose for the reward of reconciling humankind with God. To quote prolific author Andrew Wommack, “Most of us would not have created the world and man if we knew the heartache and terrible sacrifice it would cost. But God is not man. In His judgment (which is the correct judgment) the prize was worth the cost.” (emphasis added)
In light of God’s absolute perfection (including His unequaled power, wisdom, love, and justice), it is both affirming and humbling to know that He valued each one of us so highly (His reward) that our creation and rescue were His top priority. Regarding risk, consider that Jesus chose death on a cross for the joy set before him. According to Psalm 16:10, Jesus took this purposeful risk because he trusted in God the Father to not abandon him to the realm of the dead nor let him see decay.
How do you rate yourself as a purposeful risk taker?
Photo by Skitterphoto: https://www.pexels.com
