Resulting Distorts Judgement | Choice | Thinking in Bets
Hello there! Welcome to my weekly LEAPS.
You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly Wednesday feature or our mailing list. Every Wednesday, I share 5 things using our LEAPS approach:
Learn: something new or an idea
Energy: an energy (good or bad) word and it’s meaning
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge
LEARN
Something Worth Sharing
Resulting Distorts Judgement
Resulting is when we judge the quality of a decision based on the outcome, rather than on the decision itself.
I was reminded of this while watching the Olympics. You could see it clearly in the reaction to Lindsey Vonn competing and then crashing out in the downhill. After her fall, social media filled with claims that she should never have raced. The same voices would almost certainly have praised her courage, experience, and competitive instinct if she had won a medal.
Nothing about her decision to race changed. Only the result did.
This is why resulting is so seductive, and so dangerous. It rewrites the story after the fact and convinces us we were “right all along”, even though we are judging with information that simply did not exist at the time the choice was made.
A good decision can lead to a bad outcome.
A bad decision can lead to a good outcome.
Outcomes are noisy. Decisions are about process, context, and probabilities.
If you want clearer thinking, in sport, business, or life, ask a better question:
“Given what was known at the time, was this a reasonable decision?”
That question stays honest, even when the result disappoints. And over time, it also reveals something else. Outcomes continue to unfold. Given long enough, even the worst ones can carry unexpected value, while early wins can quietly mislead.
Judging choices only by how they turn out is tempting.
Learning from them requires something steadier.
ENERGY
An emotion or energy; a stand-out word / s
Choice
Choice comes from a word that originally meant to see, to distinguish, to discern. It was never just about picking an option, but about recognising what mattered, and acting before certainty was available.
Today, we often judge choices by how they turn out, but choice happens earlier, under pressure, with incomplete information.
Choice is not about being right - it’s about seeing clearly enough to act, and owning that act, whatever follows.
ACTION
Something small that you can do that might make a big difference
Act on Choice
Return to the moment
Identify when you made a choice recently.Name the choice
“Given what was known at the time, the choice I made was…”Extract one carry-forward
“Next time I face a similar moment, I will pay attention to…”
PROCESSING
A question to think about and consider (you can discuss this with someone or write your thoughts down)
“When have I confused a bad outcome with a bad decision, and what did it teach me?”
This question helps you separate what went wrong from how you chose. We often beat ourselves up unnecessarily for bad outcomes, but when we slow down, there is usually something useful to carry forward that has nothing to do with self-blame.
I’d love for you to send me your own stories / thoughts about this. Drop me a line with your answer / thoughts on this question
SHOUT OUT
Who / what I think deserves recognition - my gratitude or to be celebrated.
Patience
Outcome judgments are almost always rushed. When we give things time and space, what first looks like failure often reveals insight, resilience, or a better direction than we could see in the moment. Patience doesn’t deny the outcome, it lets the learning show up - so shout out to the willingness and ability to have patience.
BONUS GIFT FOR YOU
This week’s little extra for you - from me
This week’s gift for you is a GLAS visual for the wonderful book by my friend Annie Duke: Thinking in Bets
The offer (below) is available to you for free (for 7 days) using the code: OUTCOME when you check out. Access is via the link / button below.
For those of you that find value in our original visuals, book synopses, and practical tools, next month is the start of something new. We’ll be opening the LEAPERS Club, a space where these ideas are explored and worked with more fully over time. You’re welcome to sign up if you’d like to hear when it opens: sign up to hear more about the upcoming launch of the LEAPERS Club.
Please note that if you miss the 7 day offer, we can not extend this for you. You can, however always access the download for a nominal charge.
Invisible Influence visual synopsis
The artwork featured in this section is all copyrighted and for private use only. If you wish to use these online, in blogs / features or in presentations etc - we are happy to discuss licences. Please get in touch. The downloads do not have watermarks.
If you’d like to discuss having your ideas, business or culture captured visually - you can also let me know via email.
LEAPS is a process used by our team and clients all the time - and even my own family on a daily basis.
I’ll be sharing a set of LEAPS each week with you and encourage you to do your own version:
L: what have you learned?
E: what’s your energy / feeling word
A: what’s one thing you need to do?
P: what are you thinking / processing?
S: who or what can you shout out?
