Who am I to go to Africa and talk about risk?
I landed in Kenya to launch my book, Fast Track Your Big Idea! Navigate Risk, Move People to Action, and Avoid Your Strategy Going Off Course.
I was there to meet committed, purpose-driven entrepreneurs from all over Africa who want to build the right way: Grounded in integrity. Guided by faith. Focused on making a sustainable impact.
But here’s what struck me as soon as I arrived:
- I wasn’t surrounded by people afraid to take risks.
- I was surrounded by people already living it. Not theoretical risk. Not “innovation talk.” People who were knee-deep in doing the work of dealing with risk.
I met with energetic entrepreneurs building new businesses, and established business leaders striving to scale. From retail to tech, financial services to farming. Leaders of schools. Founders of nonprofits.
I met with men and women who were on a mission to make an impact. Some had stumbled, but kept going anyway.
And yet many of these leaders were frustrated: really great ideas were moving too slowly—or not sticking at all.
The issue wasn’t a lack of hustle. If anything, there was an abundance of it!
The real issue was this: There’s a difference between a hustle mindset and a strategic mindset.
A hustle mindset says:
- Move fast
- Push harder
- Figure it out as you go
- If it doesn’t work, jump to something different. But always keep going.
Hustle creates energy. Hustle gets things started. But it also creates an unending cycle: Launch → Push → Stall → Pivot → Repeat.
Hustle consumes a lot of energy and resources. And it doesn’t guarantee your idea will stick.
Adopting a strategic mindset to navigate risk helps you do something many leaders skip:
- You step back before accelerating and confirm the strategic building blocks
- You name risks early—and talk about them openly
- You identify and test assumptions instead of blindly depending on them
- And most importantly, you prepare people to take action— and to continually adapt.
Because here’s the reality most leaders underestimate:
No matter how brilliant your idea is, you cannot accomplish it alone.
Every strategy depends on people taking action. And those people are going to have to take risks too: Time. Reputation. Resources. Relationships. Trust.
And here’s where most strategies break down: The people you need to take action… don’t.
Not because they don’t care. Not because they lack faith. But because they don’t see and engage with risk the same way you do.
What feels like a great opportunity to you can be confusing or even dangerous to them. Not worth the risk.
So they hesitate to act. And when they do, your strategy slows down—or stalls completely.
Hustle won’t fix this. But applying a systematic process to navigate risk will help your big idea stick over time. Before you just push harder on your next big idea, do this:
- Name three risks (upside or downside!) that you’ve been avoiding dealing with.
- Identify who must take action for your strategy to succeed —and what it will cost them to engage with you. Think through the risks from their point of view.
- Hold one honest conversation this week with one of those people. Openly talk about the risks and what it will take for them to move forward.
That’s how ideas move from motion to traction. From hustle to momentum. Start by openly talking about the risks.
For ideas to move your strategy forward faster, got to fasttrackyourbigidea.com. I share over 20 tools and real-world strategies to help leaders navigate risk, engage their teams earlier, reduce resistance, and build alignment before it’s too late.
This article is part of my newsletter, “Fast Track Insights”, providing practical ideas whether you are driving a new strategy or getting one back on track. I want to help you avoid common mistakes. Subscribe+ above to receive practical insights once or twice a month.
