The two top executives at Intel some years ago, when their main business was making memory chips, were in a situation where their memory business was in ruins. As the story goes, these two gentlemen were preparing themselves for their imminent removal by the board, when one of the two gentlemen asked the other, “So if they fire us, and bring someone else in, what will be the first thing that our replacement will do?” The other replied without hesitation, “They will get us out of the memory business.” The other replied, “Why should we let the next guy do what we should do? Let’s walk out the door, come right back in, and get this company out of the memory business.” They decided to cut their losses by ending their commitment to an unprofitable business venture, and soon found new opportunities elsewhere. Today, they dominate the microprocessor market.

Expand Your Scope of Competence with Each Failure:

In our personal and professional lives, we can gain great advantages by cutting our losses early, learning from our losses, and taking steps to avoid the same mistakes in the future. Read the rest of this entry »