Jim Hargrove’s startled expression would have been amusing had he not been in such a pitiable state. He was standing in the yacht’s magnificently appointed galley, wondering if his stomach would be able to hold down the cola he was pouring into a crystal flute, when his colleague, Rita Sanchez, said something outrageous. Now the drink had spilled down the length of his pleated khakis, and he was sputtering. “You aren’t seriously suggesting that we reduce prices by 50%. Are you?”
A version of this article appeared in the April 2005 issue of Harvard Business Review.
