James Sinegal Quotes

The difference between a calculated risk and rolling the dice can be expressed in one word: homework.

I talk a lot about taking risks, and then I follow that up very quickly by saying, 'Take prudent risks.'

Father was bold, and Mother was cautious. They never shouted at each other but argued constantly about strategy, and they taught me very early that before taking big risks, one must carefully figure the odds.

If you're too methodical, too fearful, you're not going to win. But the clever thing is to make the calculation correctly about where and when to go over the top. You've got to know when to push it and when to come back.

You need to be uncomfortable and apprehensive: True strategy is about placing bets and making hard choices. The objective is not to eliminate risk but to increase the odds of success.

There is nothing more dangerous than to leap a chasm in two jumps.

If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, glory would become the prey of mediocre minds.... I have made all the calculations; fate will do the rest.

Take calculated risks.

You have to take calculated risks in life.

Thoughtless risks are destructive, of course, but perhaps even more wasteful is thoughtless caution which prompts inaction and promotes failure to seize opportunity.

Courage is willingness to take the risk once you know the odds. Optimistic overconfidence means you are taking the risk because you don't know the odds. It's a big difference.

Prudence is not the same thing as caution. Caution is a helpful strategy when you're crossing a minefield; it's a disaster when you're in a gold rush.

The prudent see only the difficulties, the bold only the advantages, of a great enterprise; the hero sees both; diminishes the former and makes the latter preponderate, and so conquers.

People who take risks are the people you'll lose against.

You make the right decision for the long run. You manage for the long run, and you continue to move to higher value. That's what I think my job is.

The only safe thing is to take a chance.

I think there's a difference between a gamble and a calculated risk.

This is a business. Be smart. Choose wisely.

Remember, the goal of structured futures thinking is to come up with a picture of possible futures that will help to inform strategic decisions.

You cannot take all the chances you get.

Yet in all those cases I finally steeled myself to seize the opportunity, and find a way to muddle through and eventually conclude that I had, in fact, chosen the right path, as risky as it seemed at the time.

I don't think I ever take huge risks, though I'm not scared of doing so.

In order to do anything worthwhile, one must take calculated risks.

It's about getting the right balance and knowing on the pitch when is the right time to take risks.

You can't be successful in business without taking risks. It's really that simple.