It seemed like everything he touched turned to gold

I grew up with Martin Scorsese as the pinnacle of creative excellence and success.
It seemed like everything he touched turned to gold.

But watching the new Apple TV documentary Mr Scorsese, I realised it wasn’t always that way.
Of his first eight movies, four were commercial flops, and a different mix of four were critical failures.
A 50% strike rate by the age of 40.

He spent that time experimenting with his craft, taking artistic and commercial risks, following his instincts, and learning with each misstep.
And that got me thinking about the risks we allow ourselves to take in our own careers.

I went back through my own journey and did the same exercise, rating my “personal Oscars” versus my “career flops” before 40.
Two flops out of nine moves. A 78% strike rate.
And across my whole career, around 80%. Not bad, eh?

But then I wondered, had I played it too safe?
If I’d been encouraged to take even more risks, to experiment, to fail faster, where might I be now?
Who knows.
But I do know this: the people who build remarkable careers (and businesses) are the ones who treat risk like oxygen, not poison.

When we only make safe bets, our learning compounds slowly.
We may protect our success rate, but we cap our growth rate.

Like any good portfolio, a career needs a balance of safe investments and bold experiments.
The trick isn’t to avoid flops; it’s to make sure you’re learning from them and reinvesting the lessons into the next bet.

Imagine if Scorsese had stopped after his fourth flop.
No The Colour of Money, no Goodfellas, no The Departed.
Sometimes the masterpiece is just one more risk away.

It’s something I bring into my coaching work with founders and leaders all the time:
When do you play safe because you can, and when do you take the creative risk because you must?
Both matter.
But only one creates growth.

The best leaders know when to protect what’s working and when to bet on what could be even better.