Judgment

Why This Question Matters

By Paul E. Casey

Nothing has disappeared from the American landscape during my lifetime faster than good judgment. You can read all the books, including mine, about starting your own business but in the end your success or failure comes down to whether you exercise good or bad judgment. If you exercise good judgment more often than bad, you have a good chance of succeeding. Unfortunately, like experience, good judgment can’t be taught. By the time you are in your twenties or thirties, you have either acquired good judgment or you haven’t.

Have you exercised good judgment when you’ve been in charge of your life? Do you demonstrate good judgment in choosing your friends and associates? How about in the jobs you’ve taken, or in the lifestyle choices you’ve made? How many times have your business or personal relationships ended in mistrust, or in contempt for the other person or organization? We all have some baggage, but do you have a history of making bad judgment calls or repeating the same mistakes?

On the other hand, if you feel that, by and large, you’ve been happy with your choices in life, and if you are a person who has generally exercised good judgment, there is a very good chance that you will succeed in business.

Bottom Line: You can read all of the books about self-employment and visit all the web sites like this one. But your success or failure in small business will always circle back to whether or not you can exercise good judgment when you need it.

Click here to find out more about available resources on successfully sustaining your small business.

 

Unfortunately, like experience, good judgemnt can’t be taught. By the time you are in your twenties or thirties, you have either acquired good judgment or you haven’t.