Risk, Luck and Decisions

“When the Black Death plague entered England in 1348, the Scots up north laughed at their good fortune.

With the English crippled by disease, now was a perfect time for Scotland to stage an attack on its neighbor.

The Scots huddled together thousands of troops in preparation for battle. Which, of course, is the worst possible move during a pandemic.

“Before they could move, the savage mortality fell upon them too, scattering some in death and the rest in panic”

There’s a powerful urge to think risk is something that happens to other people.

Other people get unlucky, other people make dumb decisions, other people get swayed by the seduction of greed and fear.

But you? 

Me?

No, never us.

Some are more susceptible to risk than others, but no one is exempt from being humbled.”

– A Few Good Stories, Morgan Housel

A great example is in investment decisions – we tend to slot risks against everyone else apart from ourselves.

Explains the IPO prices and the drop thereof.

Do you have other instances?

**********************************************************

#reviewswithranjani #risk #luck #decisionmaking

Ranjani Mani

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *