Ryan Berman

How Companies Can Get Their Courage Back
There’s a noticeable deficiency of courage in the business world. It is absent from business models, boardrooms, company cultures, and mission statements. Courageous leadership seems to have taken a sabbatical—and many businesses are far worse for it. Most terrifying of all, employees within an organization who aspire to make calculated courageous calls across a company are not getting the opportunity to do so. Their bold ideas are getting squashed along the way or, sadly, they’ve landed in a culture where iterative growth has become the goal throughout the hallways. Instead of spending the next 1200 words delving deeper about “why” this is our current diagnosis, I’d prefer to simply tap into “how” we can help those willing leaders help their companies get their courage back. Indeed, unlocking courage, when truly embraced and understood, can be your ultimate X factor and competitive advantage.

The Courage Credo
COURAGE SETS YOU FREE. Courage unshackles you from the pack; it separates you from stuck, risk-averse companies. Courage is never prejudiced; It’s willingly open for any opportunistic gender, race, or ethnicity. Courage is a team sport. There’s an our in courage for a reason. Courage can be learned. So long as you are open to the training. Courage has a role in your daily life. It is for you and can be your ultimate X-factor. Above all, courage gets it done. It stretches budgets further. And propels you forward, faster. Courage Credo.

The Business Apocalypse
Fifty-two percent of the Fortune 500 companies from the year 2000 are now extinct. In less than two decades, more than half of the brands that were on the Fortune 500 list in 2000 no longer exist. The Business Apocalypse has caused the demise of many once-thriving corporations. Companies we used to adore like Toys “R” Us, Tower Records, Pets.com, Blockbuster, and Kodak are no more. Four Truths of the Business Apocalypse: 1. Companies are perishing at an alarming rate; 2. We are afraid of change; 3. What got you here won’t keep you here; 4. You need time, but you don’t have time.

Courage Myths
Courage as a concept is wildly misunderstood, and you can’t truly understand what courage is without first understanding what courage isn’t. Myth #1: Courage describes other people; Myth #2: Courage is jumping out of a plane sans parachute; Myth #3: Courage is a risky solo journey; Myth #4: Courage is impulsive; Myth #5: Courage can’t be taught; Myth #6: Courage doesn’t have a role in your daily life. Here lies our first problem: Almost no one is up for voluntarily doing something that takes courage, because we associate it with fear.

Redefining Courage
IS IT CONCEIVABLE to make something that’s scary less terrifying? Can we create a mechanism that takes the risk out of taking risks? Are we capable of crafting a formula that transforms making a courageous decision into a seemingly regular one? Knowledge, faith, and action are the matchstick, tinder, and wood that work together to form the fire that is courage. The sum of these parts—and it must include all of them—makes up courage.

Principles of Courage
To achieve courage, you must be knowledgeable, have faith, and take action. This new definition of courage leads us to our working definition of a Courage Brand: A Courage Brand willingly addresses its business fears by gathering enough knowledge, building faith, and taking swift action. The four principles of competent and courageous decision-making are: 1. Talent; 2. Team; 3. Tenacity; 4. Training. The only way to properly goal set is to have the skill set working in tandem with the right mindset; that is the power of courage.

Central Courage System
The Central Courage System combats the realities of the skeptical freeze or flight response that we are wired with. Once the training is fulfilled, your Central Courage System will help you make quick, calculated, and courageous decisions with your employees. The Central Courage System is a process that your team can repeatedly turn to for guidance. Once it has been established and implemented, you can lead with your system’s values, purpose, and point of view. Central Courage System comes at a cost, which can be quantified as a five-step process, easily summed up as P.R.I.C.E: Prioritize. Rally. Identify. Commit. Execute.

Courage is Your Competitive Advantage
There’s a noticeable deficiency of courage in the business world. It is absent from business models, boardrooms, company cultures, and mission statements. Courage has, in fact, gone out of style and out of practice—and many businesses are far worse for it. Indeed, unlocking courage, when truly embraced and understood, can be your competitive advantage and ultimate X factor.

Traits of Courage Brands
Seven unwavering traits of courage brands are: 1. Courage Brands are unapologetic in who they are; 2. Courage Brands put a “rally cry in their why;” 3. Courage Brands inject a sense of urgency into a sensible plan; 4. Courage Brands lead with the brand’s creature versus the product features; 5. Courage Brands create passionate Believers; 6. Courage Brands narrowcast to advocates who broadcast to the rest of the world; 7. Courage Brands address business fears head-on.

Return on Courage
Return on Courage is the return a business, being, or brand gets from tapping into and activating their courage. Look to maximize your return on investment with a Return on Courage. Setting yourself up to maximize your Return on Courage is adhering to the five steps of P.R.I.C.E. to successfully establish your Central Courage System. To set up your Central Courage System is to set up your process for success. Businesses cannot be courageous. Only the people inside a business hold the potential to create a Courage Brand.