Okay, but when?

Let’s say you’re in a relationship that’s slowly but steadily spiralling into negativity. When is it time to say goodbye? Or perhaps your car has been in the workshop more often than it’s been on the road and needs yet another ‘small’ repair. When is it time to trade it in? These are difficult choices and decisions!

Back to business

You’re involved in a project that, much like the relationship and the car mentioned earlier, isn’t going well. A lot of energy has gone into it with little or no success. What do you often hear? “We can’t stop now! Look at all the work that’s gone into it!” Indeed, it’s no easy task to decide whether to stop or keep going.

Can you imagine what the people in charge of building the Berlin Brandenburg Airport were going through, as their project was years overdue and billions over budget? That must have been hell for them—assuming they cared enough.

(Brandendurger Airport)

Let’s take a closer look

‘Caring’ is a crucial word here. If you care deeply, it makes the decision to stop or continue more difficult, yet more realistic at the same time.

Another way to frame this is to ask whether the decision-maker has enough skin in the game.

  • The greater the consequences, the harder the decision—to stop or keep going.
  • The more skin in the game you have, the more these consequences affect you personally.

Ultimately,

when deciding whether to stop or continue, there’s only one thing to ask yourself:

“What could possibly make me walk this exact path once again?”

If you can’t come up with an answer without resorting to magic or dreams, you should:

  • Get out of the relationship,
  • Sell the car,
  • Stop the project.

By the way, there’s a great book on this topic. It’s called Skin in the Game: (imagine that!) Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

That’s all,

RvdL