Open Risk Taker

Colonel Sanders

                Open risk taker means an individual or business that tends to behave in a way that can potentially cause physical harm or financial loss, but might also present an opportunity for a rewarding outcome. Most business types that thrive on innovation will encourage a risk taker mentality among management to help support the creative process in other staff members.

               Take a look at Colonel Sanders, creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Did you know that he was simply a retiree with a fried chicken recipe and a restaurant that was going broke?Did you know that he drove around the country sleeping in his car and knocking on doors trying to promote his fried-chicken recipe and get some support? He was rejected 1009 times and then finally, someone said yes! And that was the start of a million dollar empire that influenced the world.Why did he succeed? He succeeded because he was able to hear the word ‘no’ over a thousand times but still continue to fight for his dream. He did not let fear of failure and rejection get a hold of him.Just like Colonel Sanders, if you keep taking action and continuously risk failure, you will succeed. Just don’t give up!

               In 1952,things were going great, but when a new interstate bypassed Sanders’ restaurant, it spelled doom. He sold the location at a loss in 1956, leaving his $105 monthly Social Security check as his only income show that he took risk to sold his location but Sanders then decided that he was not going to settle for a quiet retirement then he hit the road with his wife, the car packed with a couple pressure cookers, flour, and spice blends. He would enter a restaurant, offer to cook his chicken, and then make a deal if the owner liked what they tasted.By 1963, Sanders was fielding franchise requests without having to put in the legwork, and had more than 600 restaurants across the US and Canada selling Kentucky Fried Chicken.

              Sanders went on to franchise his secret recipe and process to a few more small restaurants, but when his Corbin business failed,he still not give up and face his risk in such a way he threw himself into an aggressive sales campaign, driving from town to town, in Indiana and Ohio, bearing pressure cookers and bags of his secret spice blend.

 “One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping-stone to something better.” — Colonel Sanders

              Colonel Sanders’ life exemplifies the role of failures and risks in our lives. Sanders saw every failure as a blessing in disguise, which eventually turned out to be the case every time. We also learned that a product or service is as good as the marketing strategy behind it, which in KFC’s case was the franchising concept and Colonel’s personal branding. Most importantly, Sanders taught us the importance of maintaining quality in our professional lives, and taking risks in our personal lives.

             Often, we get to a certain point and say to ourselves, “that’s it, I can’t do it. I’ve tried and I’ve tried and it’s no use. I will never succeed”.It’s not what happens to us that separates failures from successes. It is how we perceive it and what we do about what “happens” that makes the difference.