the.com/departure timing
the art of leaving before the party remembers you were there.
means the calculated choice of when to exit a place, conversation, or commitment for maximum benefit and minimum damage.
from long studied in game theory and negotiation science, but the phrase gets its teeth from everyday etiquette and finance, where leaving a market or a room a moment too late erases everything you gained.
stock marketsmost crashes are exit timing failures, not entry ones
comedy rulebest laughs come from leaving right after the punchline
job negotiationsleaving too early costs money, too late costs leverage
for instance
irish goodbye — leaving a party without announcing it, a social art form
musical chairs — the whole game is departure timing, nothing else
bond traders 2008 — those who sold in early 2007 kept their bonuses
cicada broods — emerge and vanish on 13 or 17 year cycles, precisely