go big or go home in 2012
Game changers that could supercharge Honda, Quiznos, and more
bombs. I never knew where I was going
and if I was going to come back alive—that
was the scariest part of my job.”
It’s also risky to be . . . “An entrepreneur.
With the economy today, anyone trying to
make it on their o wn is taking a risk. It’s easy
to fill out an application to get a job; it’s not
as easy to start a business.”
ENTREpRENEUR
Blake Mycoskie, CEO and
founder, Toms Shoes
Risk? What risk? “our ideas seemed crazy
years ago, but we’ve proven that business
and philanthropy aren’t mutually exclusive.”
It’s riskier to be . . . “Working in
finance. one day things can look great,
and the next day the market crashes.”
BARNES & NOBLE
hONDA
BuRGER KING
fiNANciAL ADVisER
THE p RObLEm Sales have slumped
at brick-and-mortar stores,
and the brand as a whole is losing
cachet.
TAkE THis Risk found an MfA
degree program and offer grants
to established writers. “If Barnes &
Noble is going to invest in how
people read, they should also
invest in what people read,” says
Stephanie Anderson, manager
of Brooklyn’s Word bookstore.
“I could see them as a modern-
day House of Medici.”
THE pRObLEm Sales are languishing
and new models received tepid
critical response—and that was
before the Japan earthquake
affected production.
TAkE THis Risk Develop a truly
audacious vehicle—say, a “space
wagon” that’s “better-looking than
the original Chrysler minivans with
the fuel-economy of a subcom-
pact,” says Paul Seredynski, senior
editor at Edmunds Auto observer.
That way, he adds, “Honda can
get back to being cool and stop
trying to be Toyota.”
THE pRObLEm It’s a distant No. 2
to McDonald’s.
TAkE THis Risk Ditch the cheap-and-
fast model and add some luxe, says
David Chang, owner of Momofuku
restaurants. “Take all the millions
out of the marketing budget to
improve the infrastructure. If they
pay the employees better, contract
the menu, focus on quality meats
and ingredients, source local farms,
and cook it right, word of mouth
will bring customers in.”
Sisse ferguson,
Northwestern Mutual
Risk? What risk? “Market uncertainty
has showed why long-term financial
planning is so important. In tough times,
I have my best years.”
It’s riskier to be . . . “A construction
worker. Dangling in a harness off the side
of a building—the risk seems all too great.”
cONs TRUc TiON
WORkER
Bryan Brady, director of
training, Ironworkers Locals
40 and 361 in New York City
Risk? You bet. “We’re working with
2,000-pound steel beams on a regular basis.
Any little mishap is a broken ankle.”
It’s also risky to be . . . “A commercial
fisherman. If you’re out in the ocean and
the weather turns, you have a long way to go.”
NBA
QuIZNOS
hARMONIx
Mu SIC S YS TEMS
THE p RObLEm If the lockout leads to
a disjointed season, many NBA fans
are likely to lose interest.
TAkE THis Risk Shorten the season—
permanently. “Players start to
show strain around the All-Star
Break, with injuries and apathy
setting in,” says Bethlehem Shoals,
NBA writer for Bleacher Report.
With fewer games, the focus could
shift to “power matchups designed
to give fans a real preview of
the playoffs.”
THE p RObLEm falling revenue,
shuttered stores, and a debt that
reportedly tops $850 million.
TAk E THis Risk Ditch the costly
brick-and-mortar shops and
“go Mr. Softee–style—turn all the
restaurants into food trucks,”
says Daniel Delaney, host of the
web series What’s This Food?!
“Take orders from the web and
have one guy toasting while
the other’s truckin’. Hot delivery.
Curbside.”
THE pRObLEm The firm behind
Guitar Hero hasn’t done much
since, and consumers are losing in-
terest in disc-based video games.
TAkE THis Risk Spend whatever
it takes to create the world’s first
immersive shoot-’em-up, where
gamers move their bodies to take
cover. “It’s bound to happen,” says
Marc Nesbitt, a former video-game
producer, “and Harmonix has a
head start with Kinect technology.”
—PATRICK J. SAUER
cOmmERciAL
fisHERmAN
Keith Colburn, crabbing captain
on Deadliest Catch
Risk? You bet. “I’ve traveled into waters
with 8- and 10-foot waves that can literally
sink a ship just so I could be the only
person fishing somewhere. And you never
know where that wave with your name on it
is lurking.”
It’s riskier to be . . . Someone else, of
course. And on it goes.
REPoRTING BY ANTHoNIA
AKITUNDE, RACHEL Z. ARNDT,
EMMA HAAK
DoNA To SARDELLA/GE T T Y IMAGES (M YCoSKIE); DISCoVER Y CHANNEL (CoLBURN)
