In episode 28 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen shares key insights from her upcoming book Risk Worthy. — In this episode, Laurie breaks down one of the core ideas from Risk Worthy: Why Numbers Matter — numbers don’t drive the decision—but they absolutely protect it.  If Risk Worthy is about qualitative ROI, purpose, alignment, and growth, why do numbers still matter?

Laurie walks through the four pillars—Best Self, Best Possible Future, Variance Engineering, and Start Small / Iterate Fast—to show where financial discipline, metrics, and constraints belong in values-led decision making. You’ll learn how numbers act as a dashboard (not a dictator): they prevent recklessness, reveal what’s compounding over time, help you cap downside risk, and improve the quality of your experiments when you’re testing a new direction.

The episode closes with a simple, practical “10-minute Risk Worthy Numbers Check” you can apply to any decision (career, relationships, business, or health): define your budget (money/time/energy), name an acceptable loss, and choose one metric that signals you’re compounding in the right direction over the next 30 days.

QUOTES

• "Design the systems that make the numbers work for you, and make the measurement of your success consistent and the success of your outcomes more attainable, perhaps even inevitable." - Laurie Chen

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

WEBSITES

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/