The Reversibility Test: How to Make Fast Decisions Safely

Two Kinds of Doors

Some decisions are one-way doors: hard or impossible to reverse once you've walked through. Others are two-way doors: if it doesn't work, you simply walk back. Treating every decision like a one-way door — deliberating for weeks over something easily undone — is its own kind of costly mistake.

Sort the Decision Before You Slow Down

• Ask: if this goes wrong, how easily can it be undone?
• For two-way doors, decide fast and correct course later if needed.
• Save the long deliberation for the decisions that are genuinely hard to reverse.

Speed Is a Strategy, Not a Shortcut

Strategic thinkers aren't always the most cautious people in the room — they're the ones who know exactly which decisions are worth being cautious about.