20 June 2008

Tips for taking risks during a recession

Only 13% of UK working adults are paralyzed by fear into inaction.

People’s appetite for risk-taking in the workplace is likely to increase if the economy enters a recession, according to research released this week by international leadership development organization, Common Purpose.
Top tips for taking risks during a recession
1. Be brave. Take a step into the unknown, within or beyond your existing role, takes courage – courage to start and courage to continue.
2. Taking risks is not as simple as jumping over a hedge without looking first. It involves building an understanding of the issues, challenges, risks and the other stakeholders involved.  
3. Don’t focus on your area of specialism to the exclusion of all else. Losing sight of the broader context leaves you open to being blind-sided.
4. Build a diverse network of people and use them to help you formulate your plans – their different views and experiences may enable you to see things in a new light.
5. Keep an eye on the medium and long-term as well as short term fixes: Don’t destroy tomorrow’s value today.

Of the 343 UK ABC1 working adults questioned during May this year, over half already consider themselves to be risk-takers.

To survive through a recession, 43% think it will be important to take more risks.

Fear is biggest risk
It also found that only 13% of people avoid risk at all costs in their jobs.

Common Purpose added that taking calculated risks is very different to acting rashly – risk is an inseparable part of entrepreneurship and innovation.

In today’s complex and rapidly shifting business world, it seems that being paralyzed by fear into inaction is the biggest risk.

Leaders must be brave  
Julia Middleton, CEO of Common Purpose says: “An economic downturn is not the time to shy away from risks. Leaders need to be brave and bold, and to look in new places to capture the opportunities for growth and innovation. Looking into other people’s worlds is a good place to start.”  

The Hub has already highlighted a few new communication methods seeing unexpected gains this year – for example, using "Mommy bloggers" to help online campaigns gain momentum, and PR professionals using Twitter to help pitch their promotions more appropriately.

Have your say
Do you agree with Middleton that an economic downturn is not the time to shy away from risks? And how would you encourage your leaders to be brave and bold at such times?

Has your organization shied away from taking any risks during the current economic worries? How has this manifested itself – are your budgets restricted, or do you have a hiring freeze? How prone to risk-taking within business are you personally?

Discuss these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.

Related news and resources:
Role of communicators broadening while budget shrinks

Got a news story? Contact the newsdesk

News archive