A pursuit that is both fun and futile is “alternative history.” Essentially, it’s asking “what would the present be like if the past had been different?”
For example: What if George Washington had never been born? Would we still be a British Colony? Had John Wilkes Booth’s aim been off just a little that fateful night at Ford’s Theatre, what might Abraham Lincoln have accomplished during a full second term as president after the just ended Civil War? Suppose a young Adolf Hitler had met his end in the trenches of France during his First World War service? Would there have been a Second World War?
You can play this game in many different aspects of history, including business history. A fun article from the American Business History Center proposes that “…. for every acquisition or merger that takes place, many more are considered, planned, or announced. These “deals” fall through for many reasons…“failed deals” are soon forgotten. But it is fun to think about how the business world might have turned out differently had they proceeded.”
What if GM had bought Ford a hundred years ago? Or what if the then giant Sears, Roebuck, and Company had bought competing giant JC Penney (today that would be like Amazon buying Wal-Mart)? These and other combinations were actually contemplated and pursued but never consummated. See if you agree with the author’s conclusions in his article: “What if These Planned Mergers Had Happened?”
You can play this game with the big moments in your own life or business as well!
