Death by safety — or not

Here is a must read from Seth Godin.

Do me a favour, as you read, change the word “companies” to “churches”.

I love it.

It's a creative approach, but like any new company, there's a certain risk. More new companies go under than old companies.

That's Michael Kozol, public policy specialist for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, quoted in the Times.

This so perfectly captures the fear and irrationality of the large organization that it's hard to keep from typing in all capital letters. Here's what he forgot to say, “Actually, every large company goes under... except for the large companies that take risks and reinvent themselves. The rest of us just fade away, sooner rather than later.”

He also forgot to say, "Actually, the top spots and large investment stakes in big companies are pretty much all taken, so if you weren't lucky enough to end up on top, (or if you don't want to spend your career waiting for your boss to die) the only way in the world you're going to succeed is by doing your own thing, building your own division or starting your own gig... and by teaching the big guys a thing or two."