

Speed and Tempo: Fearless decision making for start-ups - dennykmiu
http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2010/01/28/speed-and-tempo-fearless-decision-making-for-start-ups/

======
dennykmiu
A very good read for any first-time entrepreneurs. My own experience is that
there are two kinds of decisions in startups, one that is life-and-death and
one that is not. Life-and-death decision is very easy to make. But making the
right life-and-death decision is like avoiding a car accident that never
happens or saving the economy from total collapse. Your only material reward
is that you get to live. Decisions that are not life-and-death are much more
difficult to make in a startup. They are actually much more important to the
success of a startup. Making good decisions in startups obviously requires
experience but it also requires good judgment. And good judgment has to do
with when and how to build up creditability with your co-Founders and your
shareholders, and when and how to cash in your political earned capital to
mobilize the company behind an unpopular decision that you have made based on
imperfect data. More importantly, good judgment has to do with maintaining a
positive feedback loop to constantly re-up your credibility with your
constituents so that you do not inadvertently over-extend your reserve. I
believe when the President spoke about "deficit-of-trust" last night, he
understood. Good luck, everyone.

