Editor’s note: Chris Heivly, a serial entrepreneur (MapQuest co-founder) and early-stage investor with company-building experience from $0 to $25M, is now entrepreneur-in-residence with Techstars.

DURHAM – Startups are scary; we all know that by now. The unknown has a tendency to overwhelm even the best founders. Hundreds of mini-decisions sometimes made daily and then accrue to thousands over weeks or months accelerate the building of a decision methodology. And I have not even mentioned the big hairy decisions you have to make.

Chris Heivly headshot

One approach I see creep into even the best entrepreneurs is an approach to “avoid mistakes or failure”. Let’s be clear, I am not advocating that we try and fail or make mistakes. The real issue is that in many cases, nobody knows it is a mistake until months or even years later.

If you are a new leader and you approach every decision with an attitude of mistake avoidance you will miss the potential magic you are searching for as a startup. Albert Einstein, noted physicist and Nobel Laureate said it best; “anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

Isn’t your startup idea based on the principal of creating something new?

Instead of being guided by the fear of failure or mistakes, why not be guided by what you want, rather than by what you want to avoid.

Maybe a subtle and simple change of focus in our decision-making can unleash the company/product success you dream of. To accomplish this try these thoughts:

  • start with the idea that there are no wrong decisions, only experiments that confirm or deny a thesis
  • when confronted with too many outcomes, try to remove and/or whittle those potential outcomes down by socializing your concerns with others
  • focus your and your team on what you want to happen (glass completely full) instead of what could happen (glass half empty)
  • orient you and the team around data gathering exercises that inform decisions instead of relying on gut instincts or the most powerful voice in the room.

How you wake up in the morning and attack your day has an impact on everything including decision-making. Don’t get caught up in mistake avoidance, unleash the beast within!

The post The Don’t Screw Up Approach to Startup Success (Absolutely Toxic Say Experts) appeared first on Founders, Startups & Communities.

Note: These and other startup observations are available at my blog  – as well in my current book – Build The Fort, available at Amazon.com in print and Kindle and now an audio version.