“[[Fred smith]] was at his wit’s end. He had already sunk most of his net worth into starting a package delivery company called [[Federal Express]] (later [[FedEx]]) and he had just been denied additional funding from [[General Dynamics]], his previous funding partner. “It was Friday and [[Fred smith|Smith]] knew that he had to make a payment of $24,000 the following Monday for the coming week’s jet fuel. There was just one problem — [[Federal Express]] only had $5,000 in its bank account. “Smith did the only rational thing he could think of—**he flew to Vegas and gambled the remaining $5,000 playing blackjack**. “When Monday morning arrived, [[Roger Frock]], [[Federal Express]]’s General Manager and Chief of Operations, checked the company bank account and was in shock. Immediately [[Roger Frock|Frock]] confronted [[Fred smith|Smith]] and asked what had happened. “[[Fred smith|Smith]] confessed, “The meeting with the [[General Dynamics]] board was a bust and I knew we needed money for Monday, so I took a plane to Las Vegas and won $27,000.” “That’s right. **[[Fred smith|Smith]] had gambled the company’s last $5,000 playing blackjack and won big**. “Still in shock, **[[Roger Frock|Frock]] asked [[Fred smith|Smith]] how he could risk the company’s last $5,000 in such a way. Smith responded, “What difference did it make? Without the funds for the fuel companies, we couldn’t have flown anyway.”** “[[Fred smith|Smith]]’s story illustrates **an important lesson about risk and the cost of inaction — sometimes the biggest risk you can take is taking no risk at all**.” --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[opportunity-cost]], [[risk-management]], [[uncertainty]], [[making-decisions]], **Source** -- [[20250201125729 - B - Just Keep Buying]]