Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor.

And today's episode is for anyone who aspires to be more creative, more innovative in their work.

But the idea of taking that risk feels so scary.

I'll share my favorite strategies for pushing outside of your comfort zone without the accompanying fear of failure.

But before I get to that,

a quick ask of all of you. The world of work has changed significantly in the years since I've

been hosting this show. And I want to know what's on your minds, what questions you have,

what challenges you're facing as you navigate your career. So take a risk and shoot me a note at

Modern Mentor at quick and dirty tips.com and let me know what you want to hear more about.

Okay, now on to today's episode. There's a trail of companies behind us, from Polaroid to

Blockbuster to Blackberry and countless others my kids have

never heard of. That ultimately failed because they didn't innovate. Once they found their formula for

success, they took their eyes off the ball. And when they weren't looking, crafty new business

models emerged, taking risks that paid off. Companies need to be innovating today more than ever,

in ways big and small. An innovation requires risk-taking, which means that individual people

need to be taking the risks, but taking risks is scary. What if you get it wrong? We all know of

someone who took a big chance and had a big fall.

So how do you develop the comfort and confidence to take risks without worrying you're putting your job on the line?

The good news is that there are ways you can manage and mitigate risk, giving your great ideas their moment in the sun without leaving you feeling

that unemployment is imminent. Start with context. All risks are not created equal. While there are many

variations out there, one of the most critical is the informed versus the uninformed risk. As you've

likely guessed, it's the informed variety

...