The Concorde Effect. Iron Consistency Can Get You Lost
Why you should sometimes give up.
A failed business, a college for which you’ve lost heart, and a relationship with no future. Isn’t it better to withdraw from a venture than to drown the next millions or the best years of your life in it?
He who quits never wins, he who wins never quits, personal development gurus repeat. Nonsense. In many situations, determination precedes disaster. As in the case of the Concorde airliner — it was close to completion when news of a new Boeing, far cheaper to operate than the joint design of the English and French, cooled. Nevertheless, Paris and London made the political decision to continue the unprofitable venture, adding another $1 billion to the nine already spent.
We, too, often dabble in ventures that have long been loss-making. Because how do you back out without losing your pride? We laugh at the person who stands at the roulette table and loses $900 of the $1,000 he has in his wallet. What does she do with the remaining hundred? Reason tells her that she should leave the temple of gambling at the earliest opportunity. However, she finds it hard to overcome her desire to get her money back. So she takes another risk and leaves the casino completely broke. “Only fools increase their losses,” we comment.
