Ty Cobb stole (lifetime stolen bases) his way into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but actually, an obscure major leaguer named Max Carey had a far higher percentage of successful steals. So why is Cobb a legend, not Carey? Cobb knew the value of risk.

Cobb regarded the risk of poor judgment to be less costly than the price of playing it safe. A process of five steps forward and three backward makes for a net movement of two steps in the direction of a goal, but one step forward with no setback is a net gain of only one. In other words, while waiting for a risk-free "sure thing," a lot of opportunities are going to be lost.

Sometimes we stay on base when it is time to make a run for it, especially when it comes to deciding which choice would be right or wrong. Thomas W. Watson Jr. of IBM fame put it this way: "Solve it. Solve it quickly. Solve it right or wrong. If you solve it wrong, it will come back and slap you in the face, and then you can solve it right. Lying dead in the water and doing nothing is a comfortable alternative because it is without risk, but it is an absolutely fatal way to manage a business."

So for you risk-takers out there, here are a few guidelines to help you better measure the risk/reward of any goal you are trying to reach. If you and your team have a history of falling short of your targets, put this checklist into action.

In order for a goal to be reached, it must be:

CLEAR (i.e., specific, rather that vague)
REASONABLE (i.e., seen by all concerned as achievable)
UNDERSTOOD (evaluated in the same light by all participants)
TIME-FRAMED (having a stated deadline and interim checkpoints)
ACCEPTED (committed to by all -- with more than lip service)
WRITTEN (so that it can't be gradually warped or watered down)
ADJUSTED (as soon as its achievement has become unlikely)

Most not-reached goals fall short of one or more of the above criteria, making the most carefully crafted plans doomed to failure from the start. And that is when the umpire calls you out. Attention to all aspects of the goal ensures a better chance of making it on base and becoming a hall-of-famer yourself.

Published: May 8, 1998

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