Success Quote by John Fredriksen

Fredriksen’s line is the kind of boardroom aphorism that pretends to be a dare while quietly drawing up the safety rails. “Risk-taking is essential” flatters the entrepreneurial myth: the bold captain steering into rough seas, the swagger of decisive moves. Then comes the corrective clause - “but it has to be calculated” - which reasserts the actual religion of modern business: control, modeling, hedging, downside protection, and the ruthless selection of which risks are allowed to look heroic after the fact.

The specific intent is managerial and cultural. It licenses aggressive action while shielding leadership from the charge of recklessness. If the bet pays off, it’s courage. If it doesn’t, it wasn’t “calculated” enough - a tidy way to reframe failure as a technical error rather than a strategic one. The phrase also signals professionalism to investors: we’re not gamblers; we’re operators. It’s confidence with a spreadsheet.

The subtext is that risk is unavoidable, but narrative is optional. “Calculated risk” is really about legitimizing uncertainty with math and process, a post-2008 sensibility where nobody wants to sound naive about volatility. Coming from Fredriksen - a shipping and energy magnate whose fortunes ride cyclical markets and geopolitical shockwaves - the line reads less like motivational poster wisdom and more like a survival tactic. In industries where one mispriced bet can sink a company, calculation isn’t caution; it’s the only way to keep swinging.