By Sunday Tollefson, MBA, PMP®

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where all the fruit is."
- Bob Ross

You know that time you took a really big risk at work?  How did you decide to make that decision? Why did you go out on that "limb?" And how did it impact your courage muscle for making bigger future decisions? How did it impact your career?  

When you really think about it, what sets your difficult decisions apart from regular decisions is the risk involved. Risk means that there is an unknown element to the results of the decision. It means there are potential negative consequences that someone will have to own. There are events, aspects, dependencies, that can change the desired course of the action and subvert your ideal result. That's what makes these decisions difficult. Difficult decisions are made because they must be made. Even choosing "no action" is a choice, although it is often the one that requires the least courage and the least...