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Risk taking is essential for the growth and success of any business. Without taking risks your organization can easily become outdated and left in a dwindling market.

Organizations around the world, from universities to non-profits to corporations, are branding themselves as innovative leaders. Search Google for “innovation” and you’ll find 516,000,000 entries. Search Amazon books and you’ll find over 115,000 books with “innovation” in the title.

Being a visionary means thinking about the future and taking action to make that future happen. Since every person thinks about the future, being a visionary is a natural skill every person possesses. So the question shifts from “Are you a visionary?” to “HOW are you a visionary?”

Some years back, I faced my first major crisis of managing uncertainty. I was an executive manager of Information Technology for an international oil and gas firm based in Dallas, Texas, USA. The oil crisis was at its peak and I had less staff and more demands.

I was speaking with a colleague whose client was preparing a proposal for an innovative initiative, to present to their company’s executive committee. At one point, we talked about where the resistance might come from – not based on the content of the proposal, but based on the kind of innovative thinking behind the content.