Osborne, Larry. Innovation’s Dirty Little Secret: Why Serial Innovators Succeed Where Others Fail. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013. Kindle Electronic Edition.
Chapter 4, “Exit Strategies: Why Your Exit Strategy Is Just as Important as Your Game Plan” (Loc. 306-400)
Osborne asserts that serial innovators know how to escape from a bad idea. “An exit strategy is simply a planned, graceful way out” (Loc. 312). He gives an example of a church campus land purchase for which a lawsuit delayed the purchase for several years. The church had contingency plans in place which allowed them to wait until they won the suit. Without an exit strategy they could have owned a piece of land they couldn’t use.
Osborne then proposes that an important way of escape is to do an “experiment” rather than make an overall plan change (Loc. 345). If the experiment fails there is no loss of credibility. If it succeeds the innovator’s goal is reached. If all else fails, Osborne suggests, in a desperate situation, “make whatever big and bold changes need to be made” (Loc. 373). Yet wait until nothing else is possible. This is a genuine last attempt.