… rarely helps.

Yes, you can learn from the past. But you can also think too hard about it, too often.

Try this: think about the past and the mistakes you or your company made (“We hired that lazy good for nothing that derailed the team and sucked down morale”). Make a full list. It’s painful to go through those memories, isn’t it?

Then refine the mistakes down to a single sentence to tell yourself what to do in the future (“Only hire amazing people that want to do incredible work”).

Make a list of these action items, print the list, and post it on your wall to look at often.

There. Done.

Now never look backward. Only forward.