The risk-taking that got your company to that point suddenly begins to seep away.

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After all, even when a large company encourages risk-taking, there are limits to how much money a bet on innovation can lose before the person responsible for it pays a career price.

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For me equilibrium represents a risk-free speculation where you can sit and stalk a company without taking an exposure waiting for the beginning of a large move in either direction.

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Which is why the 2011 bonus for Stephen Hester, RBS's chief executive, is such a lightning rod for discontent in the UK, even though he was actually running a commercial property company, British Land, when the bankers' risk-taking party was at its frenzied peak (and see my post of last night for more on this).

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And as the company moves into 2012, it will serve up continued innovation and risk-taking in the name of brand-building, Allen said in my recent interview with her.

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