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How the Sunk Cost Fallacy Traps You in Bad Work Projects
Description
Lucas and Luna explore how the sunk cost fallacy keeps professionals stuck in failing projects, toxic jobs, and outdated strategies. Using the case of a mid-level marketing manager who spent 18 months on a doomed campaign at a Fortune 500 consumer goods company, they break down the cognitive bias that makes us throw good time after bad. Lucas shares data from a 2025 Harvard Business Review survey showing that 62% of professionals admit to continuing a project primarily because of time already invested. Luna brings in the story of a software engineer who stayed at a startup two years too long because of equity vesting. They discuss practical tactics like pre-commitment review gates, the 'outsider test', and how to reframe past effort as learning rather than loss. This is episode 129 of The Office Politics Podcast.