Risk aversion often gets in the way of being open to trying new ways of doing things and opening ourselves up to innovation and entrepreneurial mindsets. We stop at the mental ideation stage and prevent ourselves from following through with it - because our own mind tends to overemphasise the unpredictable downside risk over the unlimited upside that could follow. We are witnessing an increasing risk-aversion mentality in South Africa, informed not just by our conservative natures, but also the economic and political climate, which is fuelling uncertainty. These high risk-aversion levels can cripple innovation and entrepreneurship, the very engines on which economies rely to ensure growth. Instead of calling it a day when our mind starts fixating on the risks, what if we start being proactive about reducing the downside risks that lead to this exaggerated risk-averse mentality in the first place? For example, when a big business decides to invest in innovations, it limits the downsi...
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