Opinion: The real deal: Dependability assumes risk

Your level of comfort with the risk depends upon what you value and what is at stake.

Several weeks ago, I watched the new hit game show “Deal or No Deal” and came to understand the dynamics of risk and dependability.

The game, hosted by Howie Mandel, starts out with 26 beautiful models cascading down a flight of stairs, each holding a closed case that contains money ranging from one cent to $1 million. The contestant chooses one case to keep, hoping that he has chosen the case with the $1 million. The odds are 1-in-26 that the contestant will choose the case holding the $1 million. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Well, it is. The opportunity equals the risk. There is also a 1-in-26 chance that the chosen case contains only one cent.

Since the case stays closed until the end of the game, you never know for sure what is in the case that the contestant chose. The mystery unfolds as the contestant continues to select cases one at a time, so that eventually the contestant and the audience know what is not in the selected case. With each new piece of information, the odds of receiving $1 million either increase or decrease, depending upon luck and the order in which the remaining cases are opened.

However, the “banker” is keeping track of the odds and makes offers along the way to “buy back” the case the contestant originally chose. The banker’s offer increases if the contestant continues to open cases with small amounts, and the banker’s offer decreases if the contestant is unlucky enough to open a case that has $1 million in it.

Once the banker makes the offer to “buy back” the case, it is up to Howie Mandel to ask the question, “Deal, or no deal?” If the contestant says “deal,” then he agrees to accept the banker’s offer. The deal is a good one if he ends up with more from the banker than what was in his secret case. The deal is a bad deal if the contestant ends up with less than what was in the case she selected.

You can tell a lot about a person by observing what he or she is willing to risk.

On one particular show, a military man clearly understood that the odds were for him to win big. He hadn’t yet opened the $300,000 case or the $1 million case, and the odds were definitely in his favor. But there was still a risk of losing it all, and losing it all meant risking the promise he made to his two adolescent daughters that he was going to make enough money to take them on a vacation of a lifetime.

When Howie Mandel asked the question “Deal or no deal?” this military man couldn’t keep his eyes off of his young daughters who were red-faced and tear-stained from screaming, “Please, Daddy, take the deal. Please!” Reluctantly, the offer from the banker for $75,000 (don’t quote me on the amount) was enough for the military man to keep his promise to his daughters.

“Deal” he said, slamming down the red “deal button” as the audience roared with excitement. The military man’s daughters raced to the stage with their red, tear-stained faces and grabbed their father and settled into his embrace.

When Howie played out the rest of the game, the mystery unfolded to reveal that the military man would have won more than $300,000 if he would have continued playing. By many people’s standards, the military man didn’t make a good deal.

I disagree. He made the deal of a lifetime.

This month’s character word is “dependability.” This military man showed himself to be dependable to his daughters in the most tempting of circumstances. If he was only thinking of himself, he might have been able to live with the risk of losing it all for the chance to win big. Obviously, this risk wasn’t worth disappointing the two people he loved the most.

His daughters will always remember their dad as dependable.

This man’s character trait of dependability is a lesson to us in the business world. Sometimes we sacrifice dependability because we look at the little picture, and another temptation urges us to risk our dependability.

The question of risk and dependability merits answering a few questions:

What is at stake when you risk being viewed as dependable? Is it worth the risk? Are you dependable? Deal or no deal?

Think about it and e-mail me your thoughts.

Definition: To be consistent in your actions and behavior, and to be steadfast in doing what is needed or expected of you.

Demonstrate It: Always be on time; perform to the best of your abilities every day; volunteer to pitch in when others need help; meet your deadlines; and follow through on the commitments you make.

Marlene Chism, president of ICARE Presentations in Springfield, works with companies that want to build strong business relationships and with individuals who want to be better communicators. She can be reached at marlene@icarepresentations.com.