05/06/2026
A pharma company decides to build the "perfect" digital companion app.
The mandate: zero glitches. Every regulatory edge case covered. Nothing ships until it's flawless. β
So legal joins the steering committee. Then product. Then compliance. Then four other departments.
Two years later, the app finally launches.
By then:
β Three competitors had shipped simpler versions π
β The internal champion had quit
β The technology was already a generation behind β³
Nobody downloaded it.
On the financial statements, it shows up as research and development written off β fully depreciated, zero return. Nobody mentions it on the investor call. π
But it's there. Two years of capital. Seven departments' time.
The most expensive product in this company's portfolio isn't the one that failed.
It's the one that never failed publicly β because it never shipped.
At Business Saga, we help leaders move from "get it right" to "get it started" β so capital generates returns instead of quietly depreciating.
What "perfect" project in your portfolio has quietly become the most expensive one?
Cheers π₯