Highwire Management: Risk-Taking Tactics for Leaders, Innovators, and Trailblazers

Calvert, an adjunct professor in graduate management at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, offers an intriguing thesis. The ``changing business environment requires a revision of established risk-taking expectations and methods,'' compelling managers to ``consider more favorably the opportunities . . . that justify a greater number of risks than in the past.'' They must seek taking chances as ``an everyday tactic, not just an occasional strategy.'' This idea echoes the quip by Will Rogers that ``even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.'' Calvert adroitly fine-tunes his theory with detailed comments regarding risk-attitude inventories, decision making, chaotic times and planning. His coverage of case studies and his discussion of coping with emotions and failures are splendid. This well-researched study is an important contributon to management thinking. (Oct.)