What does this risk-return tradeoff mean to the financial management of a firm? What are the possible impacts on the firm? How can this impact the firm's decisions?

Is this rule followed by most firms most of the time? If so, how? Give some examples. If not, why not? Give some examples.

Are there areas where this rule might not be applicable? If so, in what industries/firms/product life cycles might this be applied? If not, why not?