Failure: A Checklist

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]M[/su_dropcap]OST PEOPLE FOCUS too much on how to get ahead by making the right decisions. In a world where most businesses go under and most investors trail an index fund, an obsession with how to not fail can be a more effective mind-set. Doing so requires knowing the behaviors that are likely to cause failure. Here’s a checklist of bad decisions I’ve witness over the years.

• Always remember: Success is due to your intelligence and effort. Failure is due to the political party you didn’t vote for.
• View “changing your mind” as a character flaw and something to be avoided.
• Associate complexity with added value.
• Surround yourself with people who agree with you or are too afraid to tell you you’re wrong.
• Treat information that goes against what you believe as an attack on your intelligence.
• Seek the council of people working on commission.
• Accept past correlations as a clean prediction of the future.
• Compete on cost rather than service.
• Prioritize in this order: Quarterly results, annual results, long-term results, and — if there’s anything left over — reputation.
• Develop strong opinions for things you have no personal experience in.

Read more: Failure: A Checklist — The Motley Fool

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