Cut Your Losses

From the book The Management Methods of Jesus, by Bob Briner:


'On several occasions, the Gospels tell of Jesus' leaving a place where He knew He was not wanted - like in Gadara, where the people asked Him to leave, and He did. He instructed His disciples to do likewise. They were to leave any city that did not welcome them and "shake the dust of those cities" off their feet.


This provides a helpful business insight: Don't let pride or stubbornness keep you in a market in which you don't belong, or with a product that is not going to make it, or in a business alliance that is not going to work out.


In our own company we have learned this lesson the hard way, and it has cost us a lot of money. It has also cost us a lot of forward momentum in profitable areas - areas where we could have done even better had we cut our losses on inherently bad deals and invested that time and money in the profitable areas. 


This is not about giving up and rolling over at the first sign of trouble or difficulty. It is about carefully analyzing losing situations and making sure you are not refusing to pull the plug because of stubbornness or pride. 


Cut your losses. Jesus did.'