Risk assesment

Today I feel like this... Juggling options and assignments. Balancing my BIP courses and my other responsibilities. 

There is a mantra flying around our class at DCU Ryan Academy and that is " Fail early, Fail cheap,  and fail fast". My personal motto for the past 29 years has been "Plan and prepare, or prepare to fail" with a much more negative connotation on the word FAIL. I am not comfortable with failing at my goals (personal or academic), I am even more uncomfortable with the idea of failing at work or in completing a project. I am trying to listen to the ideology behind the "fail fast" mantra and can understand where it fits into the Ideate stage or project development. But it's going to be a while until I personally give up a "dead-horse" idea!

What about people who are told time after time that they will fail, sometimes by numerous  businesses, but persevere with their idea and take it to the next company pitch, to the next inventors forum, and the next dragons' den. What about passion? What about drive? Will they not succeed if they have a product they believe in? I have been led to believe (thanks to Disney story telling and positive-thinking career counsellors) that I can do ANYTHING if I put my mind to it. If I put my energy and time into a silly project, will I still fail? I think the sceptic in me would say " Yes, but you are too clever  to support a silly project!". I fear that the influence of others could  sway my decision making when supporting a project or idea, especially as I enter this new field of marketing which I unabashedly admit to know very little about. 

 The real story here is that I have never personally had to back a project with my own funding. With my own money at risk, or indeed my company's money at risk, would I be so understanding of a project that doesn't produce profits? 

I'm juggling with these ideas today.