Only the most productive employees can avoid being laid off, and even then there's no guarantee. All managers have to learn to increase their tolerance for risk. While some risk takers seem to have a natural propensity for it, others can develop a taste. Here's how.

1. Assess the possible outcomes of all your options. Ask yourself which alternative offers you the most loss or gain. Which scenario do you dread the most?

2. Start small. At the next question-and-answer period of a conference, stand up, introduce yourself, compliment the speakers, then ask a question or make a comment. Initiate informal conversations with your boss or your boss's boss. Discuss some of your ideas with colleagues. Risk taking requires practice just like any other skill.

3. Join a group -- a professional association, a Speaker's Club like Toastmasters, or a volunteer organization requiring you to give speeches. This will enable you to learn how to stand out from the crowd by being in front.

4. Stretch the boundaries of what you consider safe. Enroll in an Outward Bound event, an acting class, or a foreign language seminar or travel group.

5. If you want to take action, but your anxieties hold you back, pretend that you are one of your most aggressive, confident coworkers. What would they do in your shoes?

6. Make a big splash by unveiling an ambitious plan or offering a big idea at a meeting of upper management. Share it beforehand and get promises of support during the meeting.