|
The Best Teacher of Good Judgment
I have occasionally suggested:
“The best teacher of good judgment is the continued exercise of bad judgment.”
It usually gets a laugh.
But there is a serious point behind it.
We develop judgment partly by making decisions, observing what happens, and learning from the difference between what we expected and what actually occurred.
The important part is learning. Not just accumulating knowledge, but transforming it into wisdom. Experience produces the event. Observation can produce knowledge. Reflection organizes knowledge. Wisdom comes from synthesizing what was learned into better practical judgment. Don’t stop at gaining knowledge.
Experience alone does not necessarily produce better judgment. Someone can make the same mistake repeatedly and become highly experienced at making it.
Professional development requires something more:
Decision. Consequence. Reflection. Adjustment. Another decision.
What did I expect to happen?
What actually happened?
What did I miss?
Which assumption proved wrong?
What would I do differently next time?
Government contracting provides abundant opportunities for this kind of learning.
Negotiations don't always proceed as planned. Acquisition strategies encounter unexpected market responses. Requirements change. Contractors behave differently than anticipated. Without strong systems thinking, decisions that appeared perfectly reasonable when made can produce consequences no one expected.
Not every disappointing outcome means the original judgment was bad. We make decisions using the information reasonably available at the time. But every outcome provides another opportunity to learn.
That is one reason experience matters when we entrust professionals with greater authority. Properly used, experience creates a growing library of decisions, consequences, patterns, and lessons upon which future judgment can draw.
The objective isn't to eliminate mistakes.
It is to avoid wasting them.
P.S. Professional Challenge: Think about a contracting decision you made that you would make differently today. What did you learn that changed your judgment?
| 
