Getting Better at Correcting Bad Decisions

Andrew Mason, founder of Groupon and a new startup called Detour, sent out a tweet earlier today saying that while he’s gotten slightly better at making good decisions generally, he’s gotten significantly better at correcting bad decisions:

https://twitter.com/andrewmason/status/507568813773033472?refsrc=email

Personally, I’ve encountered this same phenomenon. I like to think that I’m continually working hard and improving my craft, yet I still make plenty of mistakes. Only, now I draw more from previous experience, and when I see a decision heading down the wrong path, I’m quicker to pick up on it and fix things.

Much of this faster course correction comes from pattern recognition. So many issues that come up fit the mold of similar issues that occurred before. Like Jason Lemkin’s most recent post What the Second Time SaaS CEOs are All Doing, this pattern recognition plays a huge role in decision making, and fixing poor decisions. Entrepreneurs should work at getting better at correcting bad decisions.

What else? What are some more thoughts on getting better at correcting bad decisions?