The Wisdom of Ed - Part 2: The Value of Bad Judgment

Inventory was out of control.  Unfortunately, that was my report to the Horizon Hobby's board one quarter.  Consumer preferences had shifted; a cold winter kept everyone inside; our forecasting tools were inadequate; and we (read that I) had exercised poor judgment in some critical buying decisions.  Ed Bachrach, retired chairman and CEO of Bachrach Clothing, Inc. chimed in,

"Good judgment comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgment."

Ed knew how to turn a bad moment into a learning moment.  "Experience comes from bad judgment" does not necessarily mean that bad judgment always leads to experience.  Similarly, experience does not necessarily lead to good judgment.  Each is an opportunity of the other, but only if I take advantage of it.

Before I start bragging about all of the poor judgment I have exercised in almost six decades on earth, I had better start by filtering out all of poor judgment I ignored, that I didn't turn into real experience.  Gaining experience only happens when I have owned up to a poor decision, have examined what biases or fears played a role in that decision, and have taken to heart how to counter those tendencies in the future.  Only then will I have gained experience.

Experience though by itself is not sufficient.  We all cringe when someone pipes up at work saying, "Oh, we tried that years ago."  Good judgment understands that any situation now is not the same as it was twenty, ten, or even five years ago.  The world has changed.  We have changed.  Good judgment distills experience into future lessons, but also recognizes the contextual differences and seeks to find what from the past is transferable and what is not.  Good judgment knows when to keep quiet and not sound like a living antique.

So the next time hindsight reveals a poor decision or bad judgment, remember these words from Ed, but not to just sooth feelings or egos.  The saying is only true if you act upon it.