Vote + to improve this toplist's ranking
Report Abuse

Worst Business Decisions Ever made

21 items ranked

Ouch!

Rated 14 points - posted 15 years ago by TWeb in category Business.
Click on up and down arrows to affect item's ranking
Visit our Business forum



1.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
The decision by Decca Records not to sign The Beatles Report Abuse
Because they sounded too much like a popular group called The Shadows
38 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

2.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Coke didn't buy Pepsi Report Abuse
Way back in the beginning...because Pepsi would never be competitive.
37 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

3.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Jerry Yang's decision to walk away from Microsoft and $44.6 billion of Bill Gates' money Report Abuse
36 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb - 3 comments
Comments:
booty
Added 13 years ago by guest, 0 points Vote + to improve this comment's ranking Vote - to decrease this comment's ranking
bill gate find jerry young and get your money from him.
Added 13 years ago by guest, 1 point Vote + to improve this comment's ranking Vote - to decrease this comment's ranking
Jerry Yang is CEO of Yahoo
Added 15 years ago by TWeb, 2 points Vote + to improve this comment's ranking Vote - to decrease this comment's ranking

4.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Netflix trying to raise prices Report Abuse
They'd been milking a majority of users that under used the service for years and just gave everyone a reason to reassess and quit.
27 points - added 13 years ago by guest -

5.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Henry Ford assuming that the Model T would be the only car Ford would ever need to sell Report Abuse
18 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

6.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Ross Perot refusing to buy out Microsoft in 1979 for $6 - $15 million Report Abuse
15 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

7.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
20th Century Fox selling the syndication rights to M*A*S*H for peanuts Report Abuse
14 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

8.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." Report Abuse
Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
10 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

9.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Rejecting Harry Potter Report Abuse
What do you think happened to all the top editors that rejected this book?
8 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

10.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." Report Abuse
Said Drillers whom Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist in his project to drill for oil in 1859
7 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

11.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
ABC-TV turning down “The Cosby Show” saying the show “lacked bite and that viewers wouldn’t watch an unrealistic portrayal of blacks as wealthy, well-educated professionals” Report Abuse
6 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

12.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" Report Abuse
David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s
5 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

13.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
New Coke Report Abuse
losing out to rival Pepsi , Coke introduced New Coke. Millions of Americans hated New Coke and switched to Pepsi.
5 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

14.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
MTV owned the movie rights to Twilight and let them go to Summit Report Abuse
Paramount/MTV Films owned the rights to Twilight and even had a script written until it went into turnaround and independent studio Summit made the movie for $20 million dollars. the franchise made billions and MTV was left to promote it for free on everything from MTV Movie Awards to Beavis and Butthead to news articles just to piggyback on its success.
4 points - added 12 years ago by guest -

15.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris." Report Abuse
Orville Wright
3 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

16.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
William Orton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company calling the telephone an “electrical toy” and turning down inventor Alexander Graham Bell Report Abuse
3 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

17.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Schlitz Beer decision to cut quality and go for quantity Report Abuse
Out of business within a few years and sold. From number one, to done.
2 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

18.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
The makers of M & M's not allowing the use of their candy in the movie ET Report Abuse
Reese’s Pieces sales exploded, tripling within two weeks and continued climbing.
2 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

19.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
W.T Grant variety store utilized negative incentive pressure on store managers to issue credit. Report Abuse
To escape humiliation (pushing peanuts across the floor with their noses!) store managers gave credit to thousands of customers who were bad risks. W.T. Grant racked up $800 million worth of bad debts before it finally collapsed in 1977.
-1 point - added 15 years ago by TWeb -

20.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
Apple 'shakes the baby' Report Abuse
-2 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb - 1 comment
Comments:
Not a biggy when compared with the above...but it just shows that you need to be thinking at all times and not rush to market with things.
Added 15 years ago by TWeb, 0 points Vote + to improve this comment's ranking Vote - to decrease this comment's ranking

21.

Vote + to improve this item's ranking
Vote - to decrease this item's ranking
San Francisco Chronicle would pay $500 for the Watergate story Report Abuse
They said no interest on the west coast.
-5 points - added 15 years ago by TWeb -
ShareRanks is about ranking things that are top, most, greatest, or even worst in all categories.
Use arrows to rank one item in versus another.
Top 10 Worst Business Decisions Ever made are especially marked