Freedom vs. Security

You’re probably thinking I’m going to use this article to talk about politics.  It’s a good guess, but no.

The idea of freedom vs. security goes much deeper than politics.  Every day, almost every moment, each of us are making a decision between freedom and security.  We make this decision in our businesses and our personal lives.

When we are faced with a prospect who could be a “challenge,” but would help our revenue stream, are we choosing freedom or security?  When we are faced with an employee who screwed up something we delegated to them, are we choosing freedom or security in our response?

This is probably a different way to look at these situations than you are used to.  And why does it matter?  Simply because one choice points us and our business in the direction of opportunities and the other, while a comfortable and familiar choice, points us towards the status quo.

It’s easy to choose security - it’s familiar, it’s stable, and it’s predictable - i.e. we gain a sense of control.

The choice of freedom on the other hand is unpredictable.  It may come out as assisting an employee towards their dream job or career - knowing full well that you’ll “lose” a great employee if you do that.  But imagine how happy that employee will be for the duration they remain under your employ.  What’s the ripple effect of that on your customers?

Is freedom always the best choice?  Are there times, especially during a recession, when the choice for security makes more sense?  That’s your call, you know your business better than I do.  All I’m asking you to do is stop and think about the situation for a moment, recognize the opportunities and the predictable outcomes.  When you’ve done that, you’ll make clearer and probably better decisions.