By Craig Galati · August 10, 2009 · 6 AM

I recently attended my niece’s confirmation. As I watched the group of 15-16-year-olds stand in front of the bishop and confirm their faith, I was reminded of days gone by -- days when people did the “right” things without any expectation of payback or other rewards attached. I saw the future on that day as well --knowing that these young adults would soon enter business with the vigor of their youth.

One thing that experience has taught me is that I miss the freshness, naivete and innocence of youth. I accomplished many things when I was young because I didn’t know that I couldn’t. As one gets older, there is a tendency to get more cautious when setting goals and taking on challenges. Our experiences expose us to perceived risks in what we do, and sometimes we let those perceptions keep us from moving forward with youthful exuberance. Risk-taking is so easy when you are young. When you are young, you truly don’t have so much to lose and thus you don’t view risk the same way as when you are older.

One of the greatest qualities an entrepreneur can possess is “beginner’s mind” -- the ability to access one’s youthful spirit and outlook. When one works within a beginner’s mindset, he sees more opportunities than obstacles. He is more apt to take risks and, therefore, opens up opportunities for greater rewards.

I remember taking many risks at my firm early in my career, especially in marketing. I guess it was easy when I had no kids, little expenses and a wife who worked. When my wife decided to change careers and go back to school, I let the pressure of being the only income provider curb my risk-taking. I became more cautious, and this cautious attitude actually hurt the firm. We had built a brand of being on the edge -- being risk-takers -- acting in a more cautious way turned some work away from the firm. We weren’t being true to who we were and it became apparent in the marketplace. Once we again acted true to who we were, the opportunities began to re-present themselves.

Here is my advice to not fall into the trap that I fell into:

Approach each day with beginner’s mind. Do things for the right reasons. Be true to who you are. Approach each day with the exuberance and vigor that you did when you were younger. Don’t let the cynic’s voice in too early. When you are faced with a problem, search for the opportunities first, not just the apparent solutions. When you look for opportunities, you’ll find them, just as when you look for obstacles you’ll find them as well.

Suspend judgment during your initial brainstorming session regarding an opportunity. It is always easier to poke holes in something than to find the golden nuggets -- but they are there if you don’t judge things too early.

Keep a youthful perspective on your team. Engage younger employees of your firm in the decision-making process. Invite them into the brainstorming sessions and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Too often we form our teams with the most experienced personnel when our firms would be best served by a mixture of experience and youth. Inviting younger employees gives our more experienced folks an opportunity to mentor the younger staff and gives the younger staff an opportunity to contribute. But, most importantly, it gives our clients the best we have to offer.

If the risk is true to who you are, then take it. Don’t take risks just to take risks. If the risk is being true to who you are, you will be best served by taking it. For instance, in lieu of responding to an RFQ in the traditional manner, our firm sometimes breaks the rules and writes a story or poem. It is true to who we are and it shows our potential clients what it will be like to work with us. While this approach would be risky for many other firms, to us it is just being true to who we are. If this approach is viewed favorably by a potential client, then we know we have found someone who is like-minded. If a client doesn’t like this approach, then perhaps we are not a good fit for the assignment. Either way, we are doing it for the “right” reason.

I’d like to hear from you:

• Do you believe it is important to have “beginner’s mind?”

• How do you engage younger staff in your processes?

• Will you share your success stories that involved taking risks?

Until next time …

Craig