In business the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windshield(1 min read)

That’s a quote by Warren Buffet.

I’d like to say this quote is often misquoted or even misunderstood by many…

Heres my take.

The rear view mirror is always very clear (hindsight is 20/20), while the windshield is almost always foggy.

A leader has to make judgements on how to drive forward. And the leader has to make those calls on limited (rarely enough) information.

The skill is in making those calculated calls (aka risks) and to make the right call more often than not. And when wrong, a leader owns his/her decision.

However many rear view mirrors one puts up, it does not improve the skills in looking through that windshield. Past experience (the rear view – yours or others) is good and it helps but it does not replace the skill to “look through that foggy windshield”.

I’ll leave you with a related quote to think of

History does not repeat itself but it rhymes

Mark Twain