Reid Hoffman: MetricStream & Nordstrom’s Shellye Archambeau

If you try to avoid risk, you actually risk total failure. Or worse: mediocrity. Take it from Shellye Archambeau. She led the most stunning Silicon Valley turnaround you’ve never heard of. She took the role of CEO for a failing tech company, months from bankruptcy.

Through a series of calculated risks, she led it through a complex merger, a head-spinning pivot, and grew it into MetricStream, which now boasts 1200 employees and a valuation in the hundreds of millions. How? Clear goals and big risks — the same principles that have defined her career.

Keep pursuing your passion, learn from your mistakes, and never give up. Success could still be within reach.

Taking intelligent risks is crucial for success. Understanding the odds and assessing factors can help determine the optimal decision. Avoiding risk may lead to failure, and audacious risks can bring audacious returns. Playing the long game is essential.

Creating an action plan and focusing on growing industries can increase your likelihood of success. Your family history and sense of direction can also serve as valuable tools in achieving your goals.

Setting clear goals, timelines, and consistent steps towards them while leveraging existing systems can lead to success, even on unconventional paths.

Sales jobs lay the foundation for any career, teaching valuable skills like resilience, listening, problem-solving, and negotiation. Tapping into unique experiences, like international assignments, can help you stand out in the business world.

In Japan, taking the time to build relationships through personal gestures can positively impact business deals. Strategic thinking and partnerships can lead to success, even in rapidly changing industries.

Be willing to take calculated risks, adjust timelines and risk assessments, and pursue opportunities that align with your goals to achieve success.

Trust your own knowledge about your company and take calculated risks while remaining flexible to deal with unexpected challenges. Remember that taking risks can lead to rewards, and it’s liberating to follow your own direction.

Taking risks is crucial, but making informed decisions and having plans in place for worst-case scenarios can increase the chances of success. Being visible in leadership positions can inspire future leaders.

Liv Boeree, a jobless graduate in 2005, won almost $200,000 while participating in a poker-themed reality TV show. During the final hand, Liv thought she had the winning hand, but inexperience caused her to overlook the fact that her opponent could have a flush.

She ended up betting her entire stack of money and losing it all. However, this did not discourage Liv, and she continued to win major tournaments and eventually became a champion poker player. The key takeaway is that even if you fail, you can still reach your goals if you don’t give up on your passion.

When taking risks in business, it’s important to trust in yourself and your own knowledge about your company and its market. Board members and investors may know more in general, but ultimately, you are the one who owns the job and should make decisions based on your own beliefs.

It can be scary to take risks, but once you realize that you can always find another job and that risks come with rewards, it’s liberating to follow your own direction. Planning helps define the direction, but there should also be flexibility within that plan to deal with unexpected challenges.

When faced with a challenge, it depends on the situation whether to stay true to the original direction or make corrections.