5 Steps to Maximize Bad Judgment

One of my early mentors had a plaque hanging in his office that read, “Success is the result of Good Judgment.  Good Judgment is the result of Experience.  Experience is the result of Bad Judgment.”

I must have looked at that sign for months before I realized that it was true in every area of life.  What is bad judgment?  Is it a series of failures, or as Thomas Edison say, a series of successful ways not to achieve our desired outcome?

So, if we’re on the road to success, you should welcome whatever results you achieve and learn and adapt your approach from them.  It doesn’t matter if you’re in sales, management, a parent, etc.  What does matter is that you don’t repeat the same mistakes over and over; otherwise, you’re just committing insanity. 

You can’t manage and improve what you don’t measure, so here’s my recommendation to you: 

1.       Keep a journal or notepad with you at all times.

2.       Every time you make or attempt to make progress towards any goal, write down your outcome.

3.       Record your results and your approach. 

4.       Notice what and how you’re getting. 

5.       Didn’t get what you want, change your approach, but make sure you record it so you don’t make the same mistake twice. 

Now, from your recorded results you should have a solid journal full of strategies on how to accomplish a great number of outcomes.  Use these to propel your successes.  Oh, here’s one last tip if you’re in sales building relationships (and aren’t we all?) – Nothing says I love you more than either padding someone’s wallet or fixing problem for them. 

Look through your journal and see if you have discovered any possible solutions to a problem a client or prospect is facing and go help them solve it selflessly.  They’ll pay you back many times over in thanks.

Use your bad judgment to your advantage to achieve your success and help others along the way.  Give selflessly to others and you’ll build value far beyond what your competition could ever dream of.