Is your business playing it safe - or taking the right risks? 

Risk is a regular part of business, but knowing which risks to take and when to step back is often unclear. Whether you're assessing a new opportunity for innovation or thinking about your long-term strategy in an unsteady economy, you need to know the best way to proceed while ensuring that your company is financially secure and thriving. 

If you read nothing else on managing risk, read these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you determine which risks are worth taking and mitigate those your company - and your industry at large - are already facing. 

This book will inspire you to:

• Understand the three categories of risk and tailor your risk-management processes accordingly
• Gain experience through small strategic bets before launching larger initiatives
• Embrace uncertainty as a key element of breakthrough innovation
• Find opportunities in emerging markets--and avoid those you can't practically serve
• Get ahead of and minimize political risk Avoid common mistakes when confronting risk 

HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment.