Speech: The Rewards of Risk

Audience type: Internal

Speech type: Product pre-launch

Purpose: Statement (restatement) of why the company bids for “risky” projects; congratulations to relevant staff on completion of major project; showcasing main project deliverable to select guests and clients; congratulatory reminder about the company’s values regarding customer satisfaction and internal capability growth.

Notes: Several parts of this speech have been redacted for the purpose of maintaining product and brand anonymity.

There are some tasks that are particularly rewarding. They are worth doing. These are usually the most difficult tasks. These are the tasks that people don’t want to do. These are the tasks that some managers want to delegate, or they are the projects that some companies – like most of our competitors – want to avoid. These are the tasks that are expensive, complicated, or have never before been tried. These are the projects that are risky. 

But, these are precisely the tasks and projects that we are good at and that we want. We want them because they are challenging, because the work they represent – the work they force us to do – is difficult. We choose tough projects because what they make us work toward is fresh and pioneering. We embrace the high-risk options. We like to choose the high-return, high-complexity projects. We take on the toughest jobs because we are the best equipped. We take on the strictest clients with the strictest requirements because we have the best systems and the best people. We are not intimidated. We are bold. We are intrepid. We seek mastery.

Also, because we choose the tough projects, we learn the best lessons, the hardest lessons: we acquire new ways, new skills, and new insights that we can then take forward and apply to new projects. We choose the risky, complicated, difficult projects because we are confident, based on our competences, that not only can we satisfy we can also delight and surprise our clients. The products we deliver go way beyond minimum requirements. And what I am about to show you tonight is an example of exactly that. 

These days, there is a culture of risk avoidance. This is a trend that we happily and consistently refuse to follow. Some say that in challenging economic times, avoiding risk is the wise choice. No thank you. We do not agree with that. We never have and we never will. 

The history of our company is a history of success after success, and much of that pattern is due to our habit of bidding for – and winning – the highest-risk, most complex projects. We know that high risk means high return, but that doesn’t mean high return in terms of capital alone. No. The highest returns are the knowledge and capabilities that we gain from taking the jobs that other companies will shy away from. And there is more:

You – as employees, as creators, as facilitators, as designers of world-changing innovations – gain particularly powerful qualities, namely inimitable ingenuity and a track record of proven technical accomplishment. Hence, everybody involved in the delivery of these projects becomes better at what they do and more ready and able to achieve even more in future. On this occasion, as on so many like it, I can only say thank you and well done. Once again, you have made us all very proud.

As a company, we wholeheartedly encourage the growth of this culture of daring-to-learn, at both the corporate and the personal level. You, we are innovators, creators, visionaries, and producers of groundbreakingly intelligent and capable devices that are improving our world in uncountable ways. 

And to those of you who say that what we do is too risky, we say look! Look at what we have achieved. Look at our products. We see risk as the route to their achievement. We see achievement as proof of capability. We see capability as proof of our system. And we see our system as proof of our ethos and our identity.

There are some here tonight who, twelve months ago, did not see themselves – or what I am about to reveal – being here today. There are some here tonight who, only six months ago, feared we would fail and were even making plans to be elsewhere! Perhaps they should have shared our vision all along, trusted in our ways, followed the system, believed in themselves and what we can do, and worked more enthusiastically toward the goal and the rewards that we now share. Thid id because we have conquered our challenges and proven once again that we are not just equipping the future, we are also making the future. 

Yes. We do excellence as standard. If our brief required us to “make waves” or summon rainfall, we would command the ocean and empty the clouds on command. We are not merely moving through the skies; we are painting pictures in the heavens. And the picture we have been painting over the last year is one of our greatest achievements yet. It is a superb example of our will and ability to deliver.

And so, today, it is with pride – not only in our company and what we do – but it is with pride in the knowledge that we can create whatever we put our minds and resources to, that I present to you the [name of latest major product].

The [name of product] marks not only the ingenious synthesis of multiple intricate, sophisticated, cutting-edge technologies, it represents the realisation of a design that until now had only been dreamed about. Not long ago, such a marvel would have been considered pure science fiction. Well, we have made it science fact. 

And not only have we made it factual, we have made it affordable, usable, flexible, and ready to function in multiple environments and conquer all and more than the original challenges it was designed to overcome. 

[Product name] is AI-driven while being fully controllable. It is also capable of autonomous real-time decision-making in line with its primary and secondary objectives, as determined by its operators. Although it is fully supported by an ever-ready components and maintenance chain, much of its maintenance is managed by its self-diagnosing status reporting, which allows us – the manufacturer – to keep it functional, freeing the operators from most of the laborious and time-costly maintenance tasks that come with many big ticket engineering products. The client is able to use the [product name] to solve their problems as and when they occur, and not be distracted by unproductive and costly support activities. The client concentrates on doing what they do best, doing the essential activities that generate their wealth. In other words, they can take care of adding value to their business while [product name] takes care of the issues that take value out of their business.

And that is what we aim to do: we help our clients achieve their goals. We want to provide workable, efficient solutions for their problems. We help our clients overcome obstacles, smooth out their flows, and better serve their customers. We believe – no, actually we know – that [product name] will serve its users dependably, faithfully, and cost effectively for as long as they want to use it.

1. I know this is hyperbole, but a bit of flowery language in a rich and strongly affirmative piece like this brings some extra colour to the table. It also gives the audience a brief repsite from the corporate language. ↩︎