FT.com / Business Life - Book review: Take a strategic risk but hedge your bets

FT.com / Business Life - Book review: Take a strategic risk but hedge your bets

In the world of finance, all players hedge their bets. But very often in the world of strategy, we fail to do that. We commit to a strategy based on certain assumptions and devote all our resources towards the execution of that strategy. But what happens if the assumptions turn out to be wrong? What happens if the future external events invalidate our assumptions and make our strategy irrelevant? Is it possible for a company to change its strategy after devoting all its resources towards a failed strategy? Do most of the companies have this luxury? Why don't people hedge their bets in the world of strategy as they do in finance? Why not prepare for the failure also?