Preserving Optionality

Another model from economics offers some reprieve from the limitations of path dependence: preserving optionality. The idea is to make choices that preserve future options. Maybe as a business you put some excess profits into a rainy- day fund, or as an employee you dedicate some time to learning new skills that might give you options for future employment. Or, when faced with a decision, maybe you can delay deciding at all (see thinking gray in Chapter 1) and, instead, continue to wait for more information, keeping your options open until you are more certain of a better path to embark upon.