Stop Doubling Down on Your Failing Strategy

Holding on too long to a strategy that was once successful is known in the management literature as an escalation of commitment.  Many factors can contribute to the failure of a specific company, but in nearly every academic case study on the demise of a former leader in its industry, escalation was shown to play a major role.

Nokia’s failure, for example, which has been well documented, was to a large extent caused by the company’s continued investment in its proprietary operating system even as Android and iOS were dominatin.....