A little recklessness…Winning with grace…

A little recklessness…Maybe a good thing?

If most of us were asked to name a dynamic business leader that we admired, the name that would probably come up most often is Elon Musk. Aside from the fact that he’s frequently ranked as the world’s richest person, we’d probably also agree that his most impressive attribute is what some might call recklessness and an apparent lack of fear.

It’s certainly not inaccurate to say he’s all that and more. But that attitude may be exactly the reason he’s so successful. He personifies (in spades) that one dominate characteristic of entrepreneurs; That is they look at a situation and see the opportunity and either ignore the risks, or largely discount them. Sound familiar?

So maybe we all need to embrace that bit of reckless spirit in us and listen less to our fears. As the military slogan goes, “Take not the counsel of your fears”. Maybe we don’t have to ignore those fears together, but perhaps we need to listen a bit more to the upside voice in our heads.

In the practical sense that might be as low risk as making that long delayed prospect call, or a larger one like expanding the business with the addition of that not so cheap hire who might just alter the course of your business. As the saying goes, no risk, no reward. Maybe a little risk and recklessness is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Winning with grace…By being the better

As the snarky saying goes,” Nobody likes a smart azz”. In negotiations there’s a rule that (if broken) will get you in a similar penalty box. It’s winning in a way that makes the other side feel like they lost. Here’s an example: You’re struck a bargain with a buyer of a used car. You feel that you got a really great deal. But after the money changes hands, he tells you that he’d have taken a bit less. Total bummer!

In negotiation the problem is generally a bit less obvious – but none the less a real negative. That’s when the winner agrees too easily or quickly to the proposed offer. There, our almost guaranteed reaction will be that we could have gotten a lot more had we just pushed a bit harder.

But there’s a way to avoid ending up on the “bad winner” side of that equation. It’s to pause when that easy offer presents itself and then make it obvious that you’re really mulling it over before reluctantly accepting it.

Finally when the deal is done and you came out on top, resist the urge to take that victory lap. Instead find a way to let the other side know that you aren’t really the winner and that they actually got the best of you. They’ll feel better and, in the end, so will you.