Good Intentions Beat Risk Charts

In the grand halls of business schools, experts surround themselves with charts, models, and risk matrices, convinced that success can be reduced to a tidy spreadsheet. Decisions are made as if the world were a cold chessboard, with no room for optimism, kindness, or even a smile. With all due respect to the discipline of risk management, sometimes the truth is simpler: good intentions, clarity, and a bit of optimism attract success more effectively than a thousand simulations.

Take negotiation, for instance. Classic capitalist playbooks dictate a rigid model: extract maximum gain, hide your cards, never show weakness. Yet lasting success often comes from doing the opposite, being transparent, seeking common ground, and building trust that outlives any single deal. Sustainability is rarely the fruit of an arm-wrestling contest; it is born from an honest handshake.

Now consider the job interview, that peculiar theater of modern life. Candidates are coached to repeat the same tired script: how to sit, when to smile, how to answer the immortal “Where do you see yourself in five years?” As if employment were a stage play and the role goes to the best actor. Across the table, the HR manager clings to outdated checklists, convinced that clever questions will reveal hidden truths. They rarely do.

Different candidates, often more mature, confident, and unconcerned with begging for the role, carry an invisible kind of value. They bring originality, perspective, and unorthodox contributions beyond the sterile job description. They may laugh, joke, or steer the conversation to unexpected places that reveal genuine depth. But instead of being appreciated, they leave their interviewers puzzled or even threatened. The result is that these candidates are dismissed for trivial reasons, while the company settles for safe, forgettable hires.

So what is the advice for young professionals? Collect certificates like souvenirs, polish your résumé until it gleams, and rehearse the lines everyone wants to hear. Not because it makes you better, but because it buys you entry and maybe later, a chance to reset your confidence.

The irony is that this is not a local quirk. It is a global pattern. A world obsessed with risk charts and performance metrics too often overlooks the power of honesty and good faith. Yet there remains hope: some transparent voices and optimistic minds will continue to break through, proving that good intentions can be stronger than the finest contingency plan.