What is Your Footbridge to Fortune?
With the resumption of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it helps to be reminded of what hockey’s Great One, Wayne Gretzky once said.
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
A simple yet powerful statement that highlights the value of taking a business risk.
For leaders and entrepreneurs, big decisions go with the turf and the territory.
But, with the advent of Covid-19 back in March, business leaders are now being forced to play a much bigger game with much less information to work on.
Like competing for Lord Stanley, if you lead a business, you are now on a bigger stage and people are watching to see how you react.
In these uncertain times, seeing through the murky and unknown while making high-risk, high-reward decisions shows the world what you are made. Which is exactly what unfolded during some very rocky and uncertain times for a small Ontario-based family business nearly four decades ago.
To better appreciate the level of calculated risk that success demands, follow us up to Highway 11 and learn how Webers crossed a Footbridge to Fortune on this segment of Leaders & Legends.
"As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end, you have to take calculated risks; otherwise you're going to sit in mothballs all day and do nothing" SIR RICHARD BRANSON
p.s... Some people prefer to live a comfortable, safe existence without too much uncertainty. However, every successful leader, athlete or businessperson fully embraces the need for taking calculated risks. Study everyone from Wayne Gretzky to Richard Branson and Webers on Highway 11 and you will see the difference between success and failure is not necessarily better abilities or ideas, but the courage to bet on one's own ideas. To take a chance and to act without having all the answers mapped out beforehand.
Tom Rennie fits that description to a "T". Ever since he purchased the Webers burger kingdom on March 1, 2004, Rennie has never forgotten the key role he plays in being a responsible steward for the Highway 11 burger stand; the one he first fell in love with as a kid when the family would journey north to Muskoka cottage country listening to Hard Days Night on a car radio tuned into 1050 CHUM.
One of the first staffers to introduce himself to Rennie was original employee Mike "Key Man" McParland who loves how the current boss likes to “think big” and keep the Webers legend alive. The latest initiative is a fully-lit NHL-sized rink with 10-inch boards that gives the locals and people passing by something fun to do in the winter months. The facility is free to use and McParland says the ice surface has NHL dimensions because “Tom likes to go big or go home.” Besides building the rink, Rennie also secured a Starbucks franchise for the property and purchased additional land on both sides of the highway for future legacy-enhancing projects.
Creating a word-of-mouth marketing frenzy and a loyal customer following that has sustained itself for years is not easy or for the faint of heart. Big Little Legends like Webers demonstrate you will have to be bold. Daring. Willing to explore what others won’t. Thousands of small businesses have come and gone on Highway 11 since Paul Weber Sr. first set up shop in 1963. Each one of them was faced with many obstacles and challenges and plenty of opportunities to be courageous, defy the odds, go against the grain and try new things. Just like today, leaders in any crowded marketplace have to recognize that fitting in can be fatal. In any busy marketplace, a decision not to stand apart from the crowd is also a decision to remain invisible.
p.p.s .... Wayne Gretzky left his home in Brantford, ON at the age of 14 to move to another city to pursue his pro hockey dream. Shortly after winning his 4th Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers he once again packed up and left his adopted home and took another calculated risk suiting up with the Los Angeles Kings.
Thirty-two years ago this month, the "Gretzky Trade" is still regarded as one of the most pivotal moves that ever happened to make hockey popular in the American sunbelt with expansion franchises in Anaheim and San Jose jumping on the #99 inspired bandwagon.
p.p.p.s .... Sir Richard Branson is no stranger to taking calculated risks. From daredevil hot-air balloon adventures to launching enterprises such as Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic and many others, Branson has never shied away from being willing to bet on his own instincts.
NOW BOOKING VIRTUAL EVENTS FOR BIG LITTLE LEGENDS!
The language of brand speaks to humans in a way that is metaphorical, meaningful, emotional and symbolic. The language of business communicates in a way that is logical, literal, mechanical and analytical. How then, does a business leader – in any industry – any product/service category become fluent in BOTH of these vitally important languages?
This unforgettable keynote/workshop (and preview of the forthcoming book) is now available in a Virtual format, Designed to challenge accepted notions of how long-term brand-building really works these days, it forces leaders to re-think what's possible and the role they play in creating modern-day legacy. Here is a preview of BIG LITTLE LEGENDS - How Everyday Leaders Build Irresistible Brands.
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"If you choose not to decide you have still made a choice" NEIL PEART