Page 178 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Are Decisive • 159

scenario. They need to ask, “What could happen to mess this up?” If
they don’t ask that, they aren’t doing the complete job. If Murphy’s
law didn’t exist, why would I need them? So we all win if they have
better ways to handle the problems I expect them to anticipate.

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Be bold to the goal, but make sure you can get there.

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As early as possible in your career, you need to get the scars of engage-
ment and gain the judgment that goes along with them.

Review What Happened

When you review, analyze, and dissect your decisions, you learn. This is
how judgment develops. The more judgment you acquire, the more you
can make another call, even when information is missing, despite how
much you tried to dig and get it.
Look at where you started, the steps you took, the hurdles and stum-
bling blocks you encountered, the changes you made to fix things, and
the result or outcome. If you don’t like where you ended up, think about
what you’d do differently the next time, take note, and then actually refer
to your notes next time.
Consider the outcome from the perspective of all involved, and
repair the damage done. Do not blame others for the failure. Totally take
it on yourself.
For successes, though, give credit—even more than is due—to
others. Do not take credit on yourself.
Age helps. Living through up and down cycles helps. Recovering
from mistakes helps. Success helps.