Risk Means You Embrace The New
You have to put your neck on the line if you want something to work.
Otherwise, your outcomes become what everyone else does.
Risk is the dividing line between conformity and something remarkable. It’s a nervy place, but voluntarily accepting it, helps make the work you do, so meaningful.
This article, makes that case for risks have to be made.
Downsides Understood & Tackled
Projects that have that element of risk associated with them, when they serve a purpose for others and there is a structure behind it, aren’t actually risky.
The worse thing to do is to not try. If you can’t put your heart, effort and gusto into your work, then what’s the point?
It all comes down to sticking by what you believe in and devoting time to create something important that people can get behind, which they find helpful. Risk comes in when it’s something you haven’t necessarily done before, but has the opportunity to make an impact.
There is always going to be a challenge and hurdles to face, but it matters when the work is worth doing.
Playing It Safe Isn’t Lasting
The reason it can be difficult when embracing a new challenge is that it moves you further away from the person you used to be.
It’s fine following what’s been done before and the decisions someone else has made, but the outcome will likely be the same.
When you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and recognise that the time and effort are going to be worthy. It helps to push you to do something you have never done before.
From My Side
My focus at the moment is to create a new space for people to congregate, no matter where they live for the YATM Club. A dedicated online space, where we have satellites of in-person activity surrounding it.
I have been testing the waters over the past six months. I also believe that I have been playing it safe, rather than jumping in. Something has been holding me back from making that commitment to a paid membership space. Perhaps it’s the next natural step for YATM, perhaps it’s the fear of rejection that holds me back?
At some point, you have to make that obligation. I want YATM to be that space for people to come to and recognise the power of becoming self-sufficient with their marketing to build their own space and grow their business, whilst being around others. At YATM Creator Day, our ‘working together’ session encouraged people to step up and create a piece of work they may not have done before, or had been putting off and make it live. People stepped up and delivered their tasks. It was empowering to see.
The YATM Club is intended to help ambitious creators elevate their work, by being around a supported space. It feels good when you look around and others are encouraging you.
However, from sharing my intentions and asking for feedback, tweaks need to be made. For people to commit to a membership space, you have to create something they need.
Here are some of the obstacles people face when asked what holds them back when joining a membership space:
Distractions. There needs to be that balance between time commitment and doing the work and being productive
The volume of other memberships. No one needs to sign up for more, what people choose is down to them, even if it means leaving one space for another, or adding more to their schedule
The importance of difference3. Delivering the same as other groups can become a hindrance. Another Facebook Group, hot seat based themes, forums and thinking you can pass the buck to the community, might not stand out as initially expected
Time. A space has to be worthy of someone’s time to get to know others, to input, join in, become involved and feel a part of a wider community.
You have to make something that others know will be worthwhile.
One thing I recognise is that people need to be led and directed. When people are in, they don’t want to be left to their own devices, there has to be structure, that goes beyond just feeling a part of a community.
This is where the risk comes in. It’s about making that step up to bend the curve. It’s about sharing with others intentions, where they can see a gap that resonated with them. For instance, the importance of the community becoming the marketplace is the next natural step for community spaces. The Community as a Service (CaaS) approach is what I believe in and when there is a committed group of people it resonates.
In an article on how the group voice becomes powerful, the community is the business. It’s access to a group of people that is valuable enough to be considered a marketable product. It’s not just the individual that is elevated, it’s the group.
YATM represents the power of a shared identity that learns together and supports each other. When this becomes the intention, the risks become counteracted. There just needs to be clarity and simplicity directed to the group for people to say ‘I’m in.’
When there is purpose for others and a structure and thought behind your intentions, the risk isn’t as heavy as once thought.
What About You?
Taking out risk, first starts with stepping forwards to do something that you may not have done before.
All YATM activity has come with a risk. From changing a conference format to the participation of the audience to being one of the first to deliver a series of hybrid events in July 2021, here is how to frame your side.
Here is how to look beyond the ‘risk’ of the service/product, or idea you want to share:
You have to do something that puts you away from everyone else.
Copying what others have done just means the results are going to be comparable. A lot of the risk comes from the energy and impetus to let an idea take shape.
Reaching out to people is about connecting ideas.
Stepping up and asking for help from others with a vested interest, helps your planning. Whether it is customers or a trusted audience, it is all about having a shared common ground.
Bring others along for the ride.
If you are looking to build something and get others behind you, it can be very lonely if all you are doing is wearing blinkers and not looking around to see who is with you. Ask people for feedback, ideas and iterations can form.
Reward those who are prepared to take their own risks with you.
If someone else is stepping up in your space, acknowledge them. For instance, Chandy Green entered his presentation on the stage with a dance at YATM Creator Day. We’re going to turn the tables at YATM Lunch Club #InPoole on 13th July, where Chandy gets everyone to dance.
There is space for being ambitious, grab it!
We don’t have to follow the rules, there is a place for being daring and looking to put your own stamp on things. Just because everyone else works to the rule book, it doesn’t mean you have to. If you can lead from creativity and not be slumped by resources, time can be on your side.
Put the spotlight on the process.
If you are asking for input and then a commitment from others, you have to be clear from the beginning. Whilst I have been clear from the outset, I need to be sharper with the intention for the YATM Club (which is what I am working on at the moment).
Show what success can look like.
No one is going to buy into something where they can’t see how their world will end up looking. You have to share the picture of tomorrow and how it is going to be better for them. It is about recognising a fork in the road and then sharing how you are trying to work things out, so the whole delivery is stronger.
Know when enough is enough.
I understand that I could keep iterating the YATM Club for many months, but there has to be a point when it’s time to step back and let the official Club start. There has to be a time to let go and let others decide if it’s for them and step up.
Let’s Round-Up
Risks are stepping stones to meaningful accomplishments.
They empower us to stand out, become better at our work, create connections, and achieve extraordinary results. It moves you further away from the person you were and to the aspirations you want to achieve.
Whilst it means venturing into uncharted territory and departing from conventional paths, the importance of clear communication, sharing the vision, and demonstrating potential success cannot be overstated.
It’s easy to do the same thing or what feels comfortable. Nothing wonderful happens if you don’t push out.
