The Incredible Mr. Lampert

Entrepreneurs take risks, right?

But the question of how much risk to take always hangs in the air. The answer depends on the calendar, the business model, the competitive landscape, the resources being put into play (and at risk) and the risk tolerance of the entrpreneur in question.

Would you invest in an entrepreneur whose risk tolerance was sufficient to allow him to negotiate his own ransom with armed kidnappers - and then renege on the deal?

If you’re a stockholder in the venerable 121-year old retailer Sears, that’s just what you’re doing.

Edward S. Lampert has never been one to shy away from risk - if he’s convince the potential payoff adds up. He left Goldman Sachs at age 26 to start his own hedge fund. Now 45, worth an estimated $4.5 billion and Chairman of Sears Holdings, he is using his considerable business savvy, experience, war chest and moxy to transform Sears and Kmart into properties which can compete with the 800-pound gorilla of global retailing, Wal-Mart.

According to this article in the Washington Post he appears to be succeeding - at least on Wall Street if not on Main Street.

I don’t know about you but I like this guy Lampert. He’d make for one heck of an Entepreneurial Success Story Interview!