Perhaps one of the most important and delicate balances that great entrepreneurs must finesse is the one between risk-taking and vulnerability. Now, the term “vulnerability” typically carries with it a host of negative connotations. If a risk-taker is generally perceived as bold, driven and admirably extroverted, a “vulnerable” person is apt to be seen as gentle, weak, introverted and easily assailable. Yet here’s the paradox: vulnerability is among the defining characteristics of the greatest entrepreneurs I know. Inside these people lies an inner, highly nuanced vulnerability that actually buttresses their externally directed strength.

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