Tag: decision
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Robinson Crusoe: The Inspiration for the Modern Man
Lewis Mumford writes that “the ideal man of the new order was Robinson Crusoe. No wonder he indoctrinated children with his virtues for two centuries, and served as the model for a score of sage discourses on the Economic Man. Robinson Crusoe was all the more representative as a tale not only because it was…
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Calculated Risk Taking
There’s a nice chapter in the ‘Art of Action’ about the approach towards taking risks in the Prussian army: “There should be no fear of punishment if a calculated risk fails to pay off. Sins of omission should be regarded far more serious than sins of commission.” This links back to the notion of ‘risk…
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What Does Risk Mean?
If you think about the word ‘risk’ – what comes to mind? Throughout history, ‘risk’ has had slightly different connotations. Tracing the etymology, Michele Wucker provides a few clues into its various meanings, which could be summarized as: When I think about commercial settings, and the context in which risks are usually discussed, I think…
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Absolutely Certain
Yesterday, during the height of the latest European Football cup frenzy, I was driving around listening to a dreadful local radio station, and people were ringing in to the show to give their thoughts and opinions about the final between England and Italy. Some chap rang up and explained he was ‘absolutely convinced that England…