From Failure to Success: The Secret to Better Decisions

By
Darren Matthews
June 13, 2025

By the time I was fifteen, I’d led my Scout patrol to win back-to-back camping competitions.

Somewhere, I don’t know where, there is large wooden trophy. On it are many silver badges, with two containing my name, troop name and the year.

It was quite an achievement.

But winning didn’t happen by accident.

Unsurprisingly, those two badges don’t show the previous year. The year we didn’t win.

I wasn’t the patrol leader then. I was a team member and was there to follow the instructions of my leader.

At thirteen, I was more focused on the adventure—camping, building fires, and spending time with friends—than on competing.

As we settled into the competition, our competitive spirit emerged.

Sadly, we were hopeless.

We lacked organisation and preparation for the inspections. We didn't have a plan to win, relying instead on a faint hope that our presence might suffice. Just some forlorn hope we might win, by being there.

I guess that’s why we were gutted.

After all, no one enters a competition without wanting to win.

So, a year later, the troop leader approached me to lead a patrol at the district camping competition.

As a result, I assembled a patrol and a month ahead of the competition, we began planning.

I have a belief that it was this moment that enabled us to win.

We discussed the schedule. The organisers issued a schedule of events for the competition, including all of the inspections and checks where they would award points. They even told us how many points were available with each element.

On both mornings of the competition, there were inspections after breakfast. There were full on—check everything type inspections.

Tent, sleeping kit, campfire, campsite, store tent, and so on.

In these two inspections alone, half the points for the whole competition were up for grabs.

Our troop leader, Jon, asked me to talk through my reflections from last year's failure.

It's fair to say, we were lacking in preparation.

We weren’t prepared for those big inspections at all. Our sleeping bags were all piled up when they should have been laid out side by side.

Frustratingly, we had forgotten about the first-morning inspection after breakfast. A passing judge’s warning, “I hope you’re ready. You’re next!”, saved us from losing even more points than we did.

Our planning phase was critical to our success.

We made a crucial decision to minimize disruptions during breakfast, ensuring we could quickly tidy up before the inspections. By maximizing our points in these two critical inspections, we positioned ourselves as strong contenders. Notably, the remaining points were distributed across eight other areas, but these initial inspections were pivotal to our success.

This strategic approach underscored the importance of the planning phase in achieving our victory.

The strategic planning and reflection that led to our success in the Scout competition are essential skills for professionals seeking to improve their decision-making processes.

In fact, System 2 thinking—a form of conscious decision-making—involves a more deliberate approach. This cognitive process allows us to reflect and analyse information more thoroughly.

Reflective thinking, which draws on experience, enhances this type of decision-making.

As we saw from my Scout experience, reflective decision-making is crucial for success. To learn more about how to apply this in your professional life, read my updated article on reflective decision-making by clicking the button below.

Thanks,

Darren

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About
Darren Matthews
After a decade of studying decision-making, I share clear, practical advice to help business professionals make smarter choices.