The Truth About Better Decision-Making (Collection), 2/e

Truth 28. The wrong decision is better than none at all

A Swiss army unit was hopelessly lost during survival maneuvers in the Alps. It was cold. The team had limited food. Then one of the soldiers found a map in his backpack. They followed the map and made it back to base camp. They were saved!

When their commander examined the map, he was shocked to find that they were following the wrong map. It wasn't a map of the Alps at all. It was a map of the Pyrenees. They had found their way back by following the wrong map. If they hadn't found the map, they might have spent hours or days waiting for help to arrive. Instead, they walked out. It's often better to move forward based on the wrong map than to sit still and starve. When all else fails, do ...