James Drogan

"With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters."

This from an item on today's Wall Street Journal Opinion page.  It should be read putting the comparisons between two of the Democratic predential candidates aside.  Rather it is the notion of judgement as the critical factor in leadership that needs to be considered.

One might observe that judgement comes from experience, and that experience frequently arises from lack of judgement; "I told you the stove was hot."  But judgement is more than having accumulated experience, for in accumulating experience one cannot be sure that anything was learned.  The world is awash with examples of experience coupled with poor judgement.

Bennis and Tichy give us some indication of the characteristics of judgement; "Wisely processed experience, reflection, valid sources of timely information, an openness to the unbidden and character..."  Yet, what is judgement, especially good judgement?  How is such a thing recognized?

Certainly the definition of  good judgment is shaped by culture, values, and vision.  Globalization, therefore, will likely make our understanding of judgement more difficult.  The rise of special interest groups will likewise cause us some problems in assessing good judgement.

Bennis and Tichy say, "...we're not sure how to teach it."  I agree.  Maybe the best we can do is to create environments for learning where the students is exposed to examples of good and bad judgement, and must learn and not expect to be taught.