By Stephen Wunker
Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg is a multi-billionaire. What about Facebook’s tenth employee?
They ran quite similar risks, but with very different reward. People hang back from starting things because they feel more courage when they see others in
their boat. We become timid animals venturing into the sun only after the pack leader takes the first step. What a drag on the economy and our personal happiness! What child aspires to play a lifelong game of Simon Says?
People who start things not only get rewarded better, but they also feel fulfilled. Even if you fail, you will have done something you can recall proudly at the end of your life. Whether it’s a business, a church group, or a bake sale, the person who gets the ball rolling makes an enormous difference.
New markets don’t just create wealth; they change the world. Air conditioning, photocopiers, debit cards, and nose jobs—whatever the new market is, it’s grown because people have found the idea valuable enough to pay for. Yet despite new markets being so critical, we screw up our approach to them by acting just as we do in well-established fields. Stop and reevaluate.
By adopting the right behaviors, we will succeed far better in an economy destined for ever-greater turbulence and change.