Stop Chasing Sunk Costs: Keeping Cost–Benefit Analysis Focused on the Future
Sunk costs can quietly sabotage even the most rigorous Cost-Benefit Analysis by pressuring us to “defend” past investments instead of choosing the best path forward. This piece lays out a practical approach to separating unrecoverable past spending from future-focused decisions—evaluating opportunity costs, stress-testing assumptions with sensitivity analysis, and communicating clearly with stakeholders. When we treat sunk costs as history, CBA becomes a sharper tool for resilience, agility, and sustainable growth.
