The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks – Mark Zuckerberg

Check the full video where Mark Zuckerberg gave this advice: Mark Zuckerberg’s advice for Startups and Entrepreneurs

In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks

– Mark Zuckerberg

This quote by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook (now meta), is spot on, especially when it comes to startups, innovation and technology. But if we remove the first half “In a world that is changing really quickly“, this quote can be easily generalized for all types of entrepreneurs.

I will try to analyse this quote, both with and without the first part …

I. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks:

When in comes to technology, innovation and fast change is key. The failure of many giants is just an example of how brutal the sector is.
To give you just a few examples:
– Nokia: Was the number one mobile phone producers. Failed because it did not take a risk on creating smartphones, or at least no quick enough.
– Blueberry: Was the top “smartphone” before the advent of the iphone and android devices. Failed because it did not take the risk to switch fast enough to keyboard-less smartphones.
– Myspace and Friendster: Were the top dogs in social media before Facebook, they did not take risks on simplifying profiles. Then Facebook came and took over.
– Yahoo: One of the big tech companies that have existed since a long time, and had the possibility of staying on top if it had taken risks. The problem with Yahoo is that they prefer buying companies instead of taking a risk creating popular products. Maybe this is one of the main reasons why Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon always try to copy any new trending service or product.

II. The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks:

This alone part of the quote alone, sums entrepreneurship, business and investing. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks, if your strategy is just keep things as they are, and don’t bother taking risks, then there is a 100% guarantee that nothing will come from this act.
For example: you have 1000$.
If you do not take risks by investing this 1000$ or using it for a business, then you guarantee that you fail at making any money.
If you do take risks by investing or using this 1000$ for a business, you may or may not make money. You might lose the amount partially or totally, but you might as well create a business that generates 10x that amount, or have a return on your investment 5x the amount.
As the popular saying: No Risk, No Reward.