One morning the young new president of a bank made an appointment with his predecessor to seek some advice. He began, “Sir, as you well know, I lack a great deal of the qualifications you already have for this job. You have been very successful as president of this bank, and I wondered if you would be kind enough to share with me some of the insights you have gained from your years here that have been the keys to your success.”

The older man looked at him with a stare and replied: “Young man, two words: good decisions.”

The young man responded, “Thank you very much, sir, but how does one come to know which is the good decision?”

“One word, young man: experience.”

“But how does one get experience?”

“Two words, young man: bad decisions.”