A young banker asked a retiring banker what the secret of success was in banking, to which the older banker responded, “Good judgment.”

The rookie then said, “How do you get good judgment?”

The older banker said, “Experience.”

To which the youngster asked, “How do you get experience?”

And the retiring banker said, “Bad judgment.”

Anyone who has ever been in business can identify with that story.

As a business leader and parent, the one attribute that I value most is a person’s good judgment. Judgment is the result of a person’s decision-making. When your values are clear, making decisions becomes much easier.

Nothing replaces good judgment. International Judgment Day is Jan. 17 every year.

Good judgment involves evaluating circumstances, weighing the positives and negatives and considering alternatives.

“In the face of ambiguity, uncertainty and conflicting demands, often under great time pressure, leaders must make decisions and take effective actions to assure the survival and success of their organizations,” said leadership expert Warren Bennis. “This is how leaders add value to their organizations. They lead them to success by exercising good judgment, by making smart calls when especially difficult and complicated decisions simply must be made, and then ensuring that they are well-executed.”

A variety of challenges confront leaders and team members every day: budgets, mistakes, delays, staffing, conflicts, safety, profits -- all call for making decisions that can affect an organization’s future. When decisions must be made quickly with limited information, being able to trust your good judgment is central to making the right call.

What are the skills you need to improve your judgment?

-- Ethics is all about knowing what is right and wrong. Is it fair and legal? When I talk about ethics in my speeches, I introduce the subject by saying, “Act like your mother is watching.”

-- Consistency is expected. You can’t let emotions or intense situations affect your judgment. Even the best business plans will fail without a dedication to consistency.

-- Listen to learn. Listening to others allows you to collect and assess important information rather than relying on your opinion or personal bias. Good judgment is about making the best decisions rather than relying on your opinion.

-- Accept your mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Accept responsibility and move forward. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes, figure out what went wrong and don’t repeat them.

-- Learn from experience. As the opening story says, nothing beats experience in improving your judgment. If something went wrong, do things differently the next time, and if things went right, learn from your decisions.

In addition to those skills, John Spacey, writing on Simplicable.com, emphasizes the need for pragmatism and situational awareness. Accepting “difficult real-world conditions such as uncertainty, gray areas and imperfections” is a must for making sensible and sound decisions. Equally important is the “ability to be highly observant and diligent to respond to fast-moving situations,” he writes.

Here’s another story to illustrate my point. A business owner who was nearing retirement invested her life savings in a business enterprise which had been elaborately explained to her by a swindler.

When her investment disappeared and the wonderful dream was shattered, she went to the office of the Better Business Bureau. They asked, “Why on earth didn’t you come to us first? Didn’t you know about the Better Business Bureau?”

“Oh, yes,” said the businesswoman, sadly. “I’ve always known about you. But I didn’t come, because I was afraid you’d tell me not to do it.”

It’s a sad story we’ve heard over and over again. Too bad her judgment didn’t lead her to ask questions that she might have asked about the proposed investment: Is this a risk I can afford to take? Is this person honest and trustworthy? Is this the right time to take such a gamble? What if it doesn’t work out as planned?

Simple but necessary questions could have saved her a life of regret.

Mackay’s Moral: Judgment is knowing which door to open when opportunity knocks.

I played golf with a friend recently. I was fascinated by his career accomplishments and leadership principles. He’s exactly the leader of the future that I believe in, and so I asked him to share his philosophy, much of which I’ve actually practiced.

Alan Mulally was the president and chief executive officer of the Ford Motor Company from 2006-2014. At Ford, he led one of the most successful corporate turnarounds in history, with Ford becoming the No. 1 automobile brand in the United States. Prior to that, he worked for Boeing for 37 years, rising to become president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where he led the development of the world-class 777 airplane.

It was at Boeing that Alan first developed his “Working Together” principles, practices and management system culture, in which people flourish and develop a sense of meaning and purpose in their work. In short, his philosophy is “to serve is to live.”

Here is his leadership and management system:

People first. Everyone is worthy of respect at all levels of your organization. Appreciate your people, thank them, celebrate them for their work and contributions. Alan often ate lunch in the employee cafeteria and asked employees what they needed to do their jobs better.

Everyone is included. In the past, management in public companies focused on shareholders. Alan’s philosophy is that all stakeholders must be included -- employees, suppliers, unions, partners, leasing companies, bankers, investors, governments and all the communities where you do business. He calls this stakeholder-centered leadership.

Compelling vision, comprehensive strategy and positive, relentless implementation. The plan must be clear, concise and shared with all of the stakeholders. It must then be carried out with determination and transparency.

Clear performance goals. Alan believes any plan should create long-term value and profitable growth for all the stakeholders, with products and services that people want and value.

One plan. Most companies have multiple plans for achievement. Alan focuses on just one comprehensive plan and makes sure that everyone in the organization knows what it is and its current status.

Facts and data. Alan said: “As leaders, we really care what people think and what their opinions are, and we also really appreciate the facts and data. When we have an issue, knowing the facts and data allows us to move forward confidently to solve the issues together.”

Everyone knows the plan, the status and areas that need special attention. When everyone knows the plan and status, with no secrets, we can find a solution in a timely manner.

Adopt a positive, “find-a-way” attitude. Alan would hold special attention meetings to solve challenges. He said: “Positive, find-a-way attitudes are so important as we work together to address our challenges. It is important to let the team see that having a problem is not a reflection on them personally. It is a chance for the team to work together.”

Respect, listen, help, and appreciate each other. Treating each other well can only lead to a healthy and successful organization where everyone works together on solutions to an improved plan. Alan made sure every employee was part of the team. All opinions were respected.

Emotional resilience -- trust the process. Few things go smoothly. You must expect the unexpected and deal with it positively. Review the vision, strategy and plan and work together as a team, making sure everyone is included.

Have fun -- enjoy the journey and each other. Alan said: “(E)njoy working together with so many talented people who are dedicating their lives and talent to create and deliver their great products and services for all our stakeholders and the greater good.”

Alan believes that the leaders of the future need to continue to move forward to a stakeholder-centered leadership model by “facilitating and coaching with humility, love and service.”

With a philosophy like that, a leader can’t help but succeed!

Mackay’s Moral: A good leader inspires others with confidence in him or her. A great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves.

One day, a wise monk was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. The monk continued his walk, paying no attention to the insults, and the young man grew enraged at being ignored.

“Why don’t you say something?” he demanded. “How can you keep walking as if I were silent?”

The monk stopped and asked the young man, “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?”

“It would belong to me, because I brought the gift,” the young man said.

The monk smiled. “That is correct. And it is the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace of mind.”

An angry person is seldom reasonable; a reasonable person is seldom angry.

We all feel angry at times. It’s a normal emotion when we feel frustrated, attacked or unfairly treated. Feeling anger can help people identify problems and motivate people to create change, achieve goals and just stay safe.

The problem with anger comes from how people deal with it. Anger in business situations is especially tricky. As damaging as an angry response can be, family and friends tend to be more forgiving. In business dealings, it often spells the end of the relationship.

The natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively and defend yourself when attacked, even becoming verbally abusive toward others or physically threatening. Others prefer to sulk and ignore people or refuse to do work or do a poor job. Then there are those who internalize anger, start hating themselves and cut themselves off from the world.

Some view anger as an emotion that triggers part of the fight-or-flight response. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively and physiologically when a person opts to take action to immediately stop a threat.

The American Psychological Association (APA) lists three main approaches to dealing with anger: expressing, suppressing and calming. It states that “expressing your angry feelings in an assertive -- not aggressive -- manner is the healthiest way to express anger. Being assertive doesn’t mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others.”

The APA describes the suppression of anger as holding it in, not thinking about it or focusing on something positive. The problem with this approach is that anger can turn inward and cause hypertension, high blood pressure or depression.

The third way is to calm yourself, control your outward behavior and let your feelings subside. I have always found that the greatest remedy for anger is delay, which is why U.S. President Thomas Jefferson said, “When angry, count 10 before you speak. If very angry, 100.”

Other ways to manage anger include getting enough sleep, because sleep deprivation makes it harder to control angry impulses. Take deep breaths, or go for a walk or get some other exercise. Distance yourself while you think about how to solve or improve the situation.

Here’s a final story to illustrate my point. A young lion and a cougar, both thirsty, arrived at their usual water hole at the same time. They immediately began to argue about who should satisfy their thirst first. The argument became heated, and each decided he would rather die than give up the privilege of being the first to quench his thirst. As they stubbornly confronted each other, their emotions turned to rage. Their cruel attacks on each other were suddenly interrupted. They both looked up. Circling overhead was a flock of vultures waiting for the loser to fall. Quietly, the two beasts turned and walked away. The thought of being devoured was all they needed to end their quarrel.

Don’t let your anger devour you. Instead, take the bite out of your anger.

Mackay’s Moral: It is better to choose what you say than say what you choose.