Easy way Quote by Seth Godin
““Today, working hard is about taking apparent risk. Not a crazy risk like betting the entire company on an untested product. No, an apparent risk: something that the competition (and your co-workers) believe is unsafe but that you realize is in fact far more conservative than sticking with the status quo. Richard Branson doesn’t work more hours than you do. Neither does Steve Ballmer or Carly Fiorina. Robyn Waters, the woman who revolutionized what Target sells—and helped the company trounce Kmart—probably worked fewer hours than you do in an average week. None of the people who are racking up amazing success stories and creating cool stuff are doing it just by working more hours than you are. And I hate to say it, but they’re not smarter than you either. They’re succeeding by doing hard work. As the economy plods along, many of us are choosing to take the easy way out. We’re going to work for the Man, letting him do all the hard work while we put in the long hours. We’re going back to the future, to a definition of work that embraces the grindstone. Some people (a precious few, so far) are””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Talk on Risk and Work Ethic, 2015
Success comes from taking calculated, apparent risks that seem unsafe but are actually more conservative than staying static. Hard work and smart risk‑taking outweigh long hours.
In simple terms: Take smart risks and work hard, not just longer hours.
Focus on strategic risk and effort.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- startup decisions
- career advancement
- product development
- team management
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What apparent risks have you dismissed as unsafe?
- How can you identify truly conservative risks?
Risk perception can be subjective; not all apparent risks are truly conservative.