My coworkers see me as a person who often has unusual ideas.

I believe in the axiom that it's often easier to get forgiveness than permission to try the things that really matter to you.

I made a miscalculation that turned out to be rather costly in the last year.

I see opportunities that others sometimes miss, because I turn problems around to look at them from all sides.

I often propose doing things in ways we haven't thought of before.

I don't let rank stand in my way when I have things to suggest -- I just take my ideas where I think they will do the most good.

Last year I made some suggestions that flew in the face of some of our "sacred cow" paradigms, and I lived to tell the tale.

My boss gives us permission to throw out our old assumptions and start over in solving a problem. That's when the fun begins for me.

My boss generally shares enough information with me (of his own accord, or because I ask for it) so that I can be thinking about some of the really tough challenges facing our unit.

I often check out what the competition is doing to see if we could "liberate" and improve upon some of their approaches.

Your total risk quotient is:

So how did you do? And what's more, what difference does it make?

If your score was less than 7, it means you're probably functioning in a risk-aversive mode. The question then becomes who's holding you back -- the environment, you or both?

If it's you alone, then you know what to do. Talk it out with your boss, some smart friends or a professional coach or counselor, and somehow get yourself into a less cautious mindset.

If it's a combination of both you and the environment, or the environment alone, then it's time to consider taking yourself to a more risk-friendly place -- because success in the 21st century will be about taking chances.

Remember the research that found that the overwhelming majority of highly successful entrepreneurs had been in trouble at school or with the law during their adolescent years. There's something about not always following the rules that correlates with success.

You can count on the fact that failure-free equals success-free! No guts, no glory -- that old saying has never been more true.