I spent my early childhood in Bangalore in the late 60s and early 70s and remember getting up in the mornings to the sound of tinkling bells. It was the milkman actually bringing the cow to the door, where he would milk it and give us the fresh milk. I was thinking about how that has evolved over time – from milking the cow at your door to the milkman bringing his cans and measuring out the milk to the milk being delivered in plastic packets. I realized that the key to distribution of milk was shelf life. Milk tends to get spoilt and the key always has been how to increase shelf life. How does one make sure that milk can stay for longer than the time that it would normally take to curdle? Looking at what we have now, I am amazed at the innovation that has come to make that a reality.
Years back, even as early as 1945, 1950, a man by the name of Ruben Rausing was struggling with this invention. He was into packaging and this was a real challenge for him. How can you get milk into a paper container and seal it without foam (When milk is poured, it foams) so that it can be measured exactly? He said, "One day at lunch at home I was talking with my wife about this. Suddenly she said, 'Why don't you continuously fill milk into the tube and then seal it through the milk?' I said that that would be a brilliant idea, if it could be used. It would result in packages completely filled, without air, and oxygen has a damaging effect on milk. It seemed impossible however, as the hot clamps for hot sealing would give the milk a burnt taste. She just said 'Have you tried to do it?' – That was a typical, logical answer from this remarkable woman. I returned to my office after lunch and in the laboratory I made a cylinder, filled it with milk and separated away a number of tetrahedrons using hot sealing clamps. Some of us tasted the milk and couldn't detect the slightest burnt taste."
That revolutionized milk because with the Tetra Paks, milk then had a shelf life that goes anywhere from 40 to 90 days depending on various things like pasteurizing and all the rest that goes into the processing of milk. But it came about because one person was willing to think creatively, take a risk, look at a particular issue think out of the box and be prepared to make mistakes in trying to learn.
I realize this about risk: if you are going to take a risk, you have to back yourself – your intuitions, your feelings, your gut feelings based on a lot of data that you have, that doesn't go all the way out to seal what you are thinking. But you can only go that far with data; the rest of it is taking that risk. But it also has another component: listening to people around you. You never know where a good idea can come from. Wisdom can come from the most unlikely sources. As Rausing realized, it can come from just having lunch with your wife. I've heard wonderful wise words coming from children, my own children, and I've learned to listen to them. Listening to oneself and listening to others!
Risk is such an integral part to being successful in the things that we do. I read a one-liner that said, "RISK is a four-letter word with an undeserved reputation." Somebody also said, "A turtle or a tortoise doesn't move forward unless it sticks its head out." As long as we play safe, we will never be able to really have path-breaking things happen in our lives. We've got to stick our necks out just a little bit.
I remember reading about Dr. Peter Frænkel, the inventor of the tidal power plant. He was looking at windmills that were all across Europe and one day thought, "I wonder what would happen if we took those windmills and turned them over and put them in the sea?" Just that thought! But the next thing, he began to work on it and, to make a long story short, became the inventor of the tidal power plant. Today, fifteen hundred villages are being given power because of these windmills. Incredible! You've got to move out of safe places.
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO says, "I always did something that I was a little not ready to do. I think that's how you grow. When there's that moment of 'Wow! I'm not really sure I can do this' and you push through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough."
I'm sure that you have those moments too, as you look at your environment, your office, at the things that the company trusts you with. Not just to do business as usual, but to think innovatively, creatively, to take risks. "I think we need to take this move!" I wonder whether you just need to listen to somebody today, someone around you who has spoken a word of wisdom that got put away. I wonder if at the end of this call, you can just take a few minutes and see if there has been a wise word that came to you that you have put aside.
Dave Ray who was responsible for Apple Computers and taking it to zenith heights in Canada in the early days says that at one point, he had a huge financial issue that was facing him. He had called all his advisors and they couldn't come to terms with what needed to be done. Again, he went home and was talking to his wife who doesn't know anything about finances. He said, "She just said something to me. I looked at her and asked her to say it again. And she did." It was exactly the solution that he needed to hear.
In our Scriptures, we have an account of how Moses, who was responsible for leading the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery, used to sit with them through the day listening to all their complaints. One day, his father-in-law saw him and asked him what he was doing. When Moses told him that he was listening to the people's complaints, he said, "Don't do that! You need to create a structure. Have people underneath who can do some of the work for you." A wise word that came in at the right time.
Denis Waitley says, "Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs – the risk of doing nothing."
I wonder today whether that could be a word for some of us on this call. Maybe we are at the crossroads in our life, maybe in terms of our job, in terms of decision-making in the office, maybe a new strategy, and we are wondering whether to take that step forward. I wonder whether we can search deep within and look for what we are feeling within us, an intuitive sense of right and wrong. Maybe we can look at some of the counsel that we have got.
Our Scriptures give us another beautiful saying: "Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail. Take good counsel and watch them succeed."
Risk is a four-letter word with an undeserved reputation. Yet, it takes some amount of courage to be able to take that risk. My prayer for you today is that you would and that sometime later, we will celebrate when we hear what that risk turned out to be.
Let me pray with you. Almighty God, I pray that each one on this call would be able to take that risk. I pray that each one would be able to walk confidently and know that you are there, that you have said, "When you turn to the left, when turn to the right, I will tell you what to do." I pray that we wouldn't accept the status quo today, that we would take the risks that we need to take and that we would be able to do something vital, vibrant today. I ask this as a blessing on each one on this call. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
• "The History of an Idea." http://www.tetrapak.com/documentbank/the_history_of_an%20_idea.pdf
• Dr. Peter Fraenkel, http://m.siemens.co.in/en/answers/master-of-tides.htm
• Risk quotes: http://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2013/07/50-awesome-quotes-that-will-inspire-you-to-take-that-risk/
• Info on tetra paks, http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Processing/Tetra-Pak-markets-extended-shelf-life-systems
• Moses and Jethro, Exodus 18 (Bible)
• Quote on advice from Bible: Proverbs 15:22 MSG
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