Picture this:
You’re a leader about to greenlight a new product launch. A business owner ready to roll out a bold marketing campaign. Or maybe you’re in a job search, staring at an opening that excites you but doesn’t check every box.
The hesitation kicks in.
“What if I make the wrong move?”
“What if I’m not ready?”
“What if this blows up in my face?”
So you wait. You gather more data. You ask for more feedback. You tinker. You polish. You re-run the numbers. And while you’re stuck in “getting ready,” someone else pulls the trigger - and wins.
Amazon’s Decision Velocity Philosophy
Jeff Bezos has talked about the concept of decision velocity - the speed at which you make decisions. Amazon works on the principle that most decisions aren’t permanent. They’re what Bezos calls “Type 2” decisions - reversible. The faster you make them, the faster you learn, adjust, and improve.
The trap most leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals fall into? Treating every decision like it’s a “Type 1” decision - irreversible, high-stakes, one-shot only. So they move slow. They overthink. They miss windows of opportunity.
Amazon’s approach is simple: Move fast on the reversible ones. Make them with 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait until you have 90% or 100%, you’re too late.
The Truth About Missteps
Here’s the reality - you’re going to get some things wrong. In fact, if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not playing big enough. The best leaders don’t aim for a perfect batting average - they aim for speed of at-bat.
A misstep is rarely fatal. What is fatal is hesitation that lets someone else take your shot.
In business, speed compounds. The faster you act, the faster you learn. The faster you learn, the faster you adapt. That cycle is your competitive advantage.
Three Action Steps to Boost Your Decision Velocity
Sort Your Decisions - Ask yourself: Is this a “Type 1” or “Type 2” decision? If it’s reversible, act quickly. Don’t spend weeks making a choice you could adjust in days.
Set a 48-Hour Rule - For most opportunities, give yourself a 48-hour decision window. Enough time to think - not enough to stall.
Build a Feedback Loop - Treat each decision as an experiment. Put in place ways to measure, review, and adjust quickly. You’ll recover from wrong calls faster than you think.
The bottom line? Missteps aren’t your enemy. Moving slow is. You don’t need certainty - you need motion. You can’t steer a parked car.
The leaders, owners, and job seekers who win aren’t the ones who wait until they’re sure. They’re the ones who move, learn, and keep moving.
So take your shot. And if you miss? Reload, aim, fire again.