There is a steep hill by my house. Steep enough that cars can easily accelerate beyond 40 mph without pressing the gas peddle, causing homeowners to post signs along the road to slow down. Apparently the attraction of the hill was too great for a teenage boy to resist. He went flying down the hill, with cars behind him, without a helmet. Hitting a twig or rock, which are common along the road, could have resulted in serious injury or worse. But he was lucky and ended his ride safely.

Sometimes reckless risks payoff. But the payoff is a function of luck, not skill. Taking calculated risks, understanding what could go wrong and having a plan to address them, makes a lot of sense. But in taking the risk, you should be willing to lose whatever is being placed on the line if going big. What risks are you willing to take?

During the winter, an ice patch forms in the same location. Water flows from one side of the street to the other and freezes in a patch wide enough to make stepping across not an option. Some people see it and turn around. Others try to walk across it and fall. And others see the way around by stepping on the curb, holding onto the light pole and getting to the other side.

When you see a problem, how do you get around it?

Walking around the area, the fall berries provide a nice pop of color and contrast to the bare limbs and bushes in the winter. They are everywhere in many colors and sizes. After the birds ate my strawberries and cherries through the summer, I got to wondering why the birds eat the summer berries, but not the fall and winter berries. The answer wasn’t simple and straightforward. But clearly there is something that causes the birds to stay away.

Your business should have things you instinctively know to stay away from too. Whether projects that don’t move the organization forward or risks that shouldn’t be taken, every person in the organization should know instinctively to stay away.