Leaders of nations, companies, and other organizations take risks, calculated and sometimes miscalculated, while making watershed decisions and straddling dilemmas.  Even with guidance from trusted advisers, leaders frequently make these decisions alone. They must then live with the consequences.

Walt Disney saw risk this way: "Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies some risk - especially in new undertakings." Disney combined ambitious dreams, risks, and courage to create one of the world's greatest entertainment empires.

It makes no difference if an organization is one hundred years old or one hundred weeks old. If you have created something worth sustaining, why would you allow it to decline or even die due to poor risk management?