How Two Dead Unicorns Burned $2.6B Using The Same Fatal Myth

WARNING: This article challenges a fundamental business belief that's cost companies billions. If you're responsible for implementation decisions, what follows might save your career.

In a San Francisco boardroom, Better Place CEO Shai Agassi stood before a group of wide-eyed investors.

"This isn't just a company," he proclaimed. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change how the world moves."

The investors, including HSBC and Morgan Stanley, nodded in agreement. They would eventually pour $850 million into his vision of bat…