The shots we don't take

In “A Few Good Principles, What the Marines Can Teach Silicon Valley,” the author shares some points which I think are excellent.  Below are my favorite lines from the article:   

 Fast is better than perfect- the 70% solution:

“Decision makers who are perfectly clear on what they need to accomplish sometimes fail to consider the unintended consequences of their actions. Determining what actions must be avoided can sometimes be at least as important as deciding on the actions that must be taken. The Marines hold as an article of faith that there are always angles they aren't anticipating.”

Make every team member a problem solver:

“The answer, in other words, is empowerment carried to an extreme: allowing someone at the lowest level of the organization to make decisions that can impact the success of the organization's most important missions.”

For fun, I think that this brief clip featuring the great Dominik Hasek demonstrates this principle well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8M2SNe6siA

Reward failure:

“A Marine who rarely fails is a Marine who isn't pushing the envelope enough.”

Seek Outside Perspectives:

“The goal of Klein's teaching process is to turn decision-making trainees into what he calls "reflective practitioners"--that is, people who can think about and articulate the elements that contribute to their decisions. He prescribes that one-third of all exercise time be spent in debriefing.”

It seems like so many principles that result in better entrepreneurship also result in better decision-making in life.  Based on my experiences thus far, I want to add a few to the list:

·         Intentional improvement: align incentives and focus on improving

·         Abandon pre-conceived notions, acknowledging that there is no silver bullet

·         Employ the four cornerstones of motivation to management: competence (helping those around you believe that they have the ability to complete the task), autonomy (making sure that those around you have choices about how to undertake tasks), helping the people around you see value in what you’re doing, and relatedness (creating a sense of belonging or social importance)

It’s been a great semester, and I feel fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to be in the class!  As Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."