Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

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How safe is it, really, to always play it safe?

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. Tel. 309-532-8466 -

One of the many unfortunate things we have learned over the years in business is that the vast majority of businesspeople, regardless of their position within a company, will invariably choose to "play it safe" over taking almost any kind of calculated risk to do anything new, different or better.

Why is that? We believe we know the answer, and it’s a relatively simple one, though nonetheless disturbing. It’s because, for most people, as well as most companies, it’s almost always apparently safer to, well, "play it safe." We say "apparently" because always "playing it safe" might work in the short run, but history clearly has shown that, in the long run, it’s a flawed strategy for most people and for most companies.

Since the business world is quite fond of using sports terms to describe various phenomena¾ terms such as "team player," "hitting a home run," "making a touchdown," "crossing the finish line," "carrying the ball," etc., etc., etc.¾let us use a few sports analogies to illustrate our point.

How likely would it be, for example, for a football team to have a winning season if they only concentrated on perfecting their defense? That is, the team doesn’t have any offense, they merely react to what opposing teams do. Or, is it fathomable to imagine a baseball team consisting only of players who never take a swing at a pitch? Can you imagine any boxer aspiring to championship status who never throws a punch at an opponent?

Absurd analogies? Not really. This is precisely what many, if not most, people in business today do each and every day of their working lives! They never take the offensive. They never "swing at a ball." They never "throw a punch." Instead, they merely "hunker down" and hope they either go unnoticed or unmolested by the competition, or, that they can at least weather any onslaughts mounted by the competition.

Not a very good "survival" strategy in the long run, either for people or companies, wouldn’t you agree?

No person, no company can afford to continually and habitually "play it safe." In today’s fiercely competitive marketplace there really is no place to hide, at least for long. And, any company that believes that there is, faces a rude, abrupt awakening. Maybe not today, and maybe not even tomorrow. But count on it, the day will ultimately come when "playing it safe" will actually be shown to be "playing it dumb."

Perhaps the most flagrant companies at "playing it safe" are the larger, older companies, ones that have become stodgy, stultified and essentially unimaginative over the years. Likewise, of course, the people with the greatest tendency to adopt "playing it safe" as a permanent coping strategy are also found in these companies. These companies, and the people who work for them, have been doing things a certain way, and with a modicum of success, for so long that it often takes going to the brink and peering down into the chasm before they even think of doing something differently. Still, for many of these companies it still is simply too late.

Are we suggesting that the alternative to "playing it safe" is throwing all caution to the wind and merely forging blindly ahead? Of course not! There are indeed times when it is the wise course of action to "play it safe," but certainly not always. What we are suggesting is that you, and the company you work for, have got to constantly be on the lookout for new, different, better ways of doing what it is you do. Many people, and many companies, today are quite adept at monitoring threats and then reacting to these threats. It’s equally important, however, for people and companies to monitor opportunities as well, and then to be in a position and have the mindset to take advantage of these opportunities.

Sometimes, not always "playing it safe" is going to require you and your company to "stick your neck out." And, admittedly, sometimes you will be risking getting your "head chopped off"! But, to return to our sports analogies again, remember that a .300 batting average in baseball means a player "strikes out" 70 percent of the time. It also means, however, that the player is among the very best players in the game!

So, isn’t it time for you and your company to "step up to the plate" and begin taking a few "swings" at the "ball." Who knows? You could even hit a few "home runs"! Now, wouldn’t that be something new, different and better?