How many eggs, how many baskets?

A market investor doesn’t typically buy exclusively one stock—and when they do, it’s exceptional. They’re going all-in for a reason—it’s a big risk.

A poker player doesn’t go all-in on most hands—and when they do, it’s something that grabs attention, because it’s a big risk.

Going all-in is a powerful move, and one worth having in your arsenal. It’s a terrible default strategy, though.

So why do so many folks go all-in every time on their goals and projects in the workplace?

If one of the goals you’ve set for yourself (be it as a KPI, something you’ve just designated for yourself, or the outcome of meetings with the board or your stakeholders) falls completely flat this year, is it strongly likely that all the others will fail as well? If all your bets are correlated, you’re effectively all-in.

If the metrics by which your direct reports are effectively graded are correlated, a weakness or a stroke of bad luck could end their tenure with your organization. If your whole team’s metrics are correlated together, well, you can imagine how that could turn out. If all your clients took funding from the same venture firm, you may see them make drastic changes at the same time.

This isn’t to say “never go all-in!” When you’ve got a big advantage in work or in life, it can be the right move to throw everything you’ve got into leveraging it. But in your day-to-day, don’t make it your default move—bad luck can happen even in the face of excellent execution.