Some of Gen Y has not grown up enough to realize that the decisions we make now can have a major impact on our lives in the present, as well as the distant future. Many of us haven’t got to that point when it comes to thinking about our future in a serious manner. Part of the reason is that we don’t know how: our parents have been and in many cases still are incredibly involved in our decision-making processes.
I was watching The Hour recently and there was a segment on this book called 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea. I’m known as being somewhat indecisive (from my future, to what I’m going to wear or eat for breakfast each day), so I decided to get a copy of the book and hope it would help me out.
Suzy Welch, the author of 10-10-10 and the person who coined the term, promises to help you make decisions in a clear, transparent and straightforward manner by following the book’s philosophy. Whenever you face a dilemma, she says, you need to ask yourself three questions: How will this choice impact me in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years? But she also says it’s not as simple as asking yourself those three questions.
It is important to note that the 10-10-10 philosophy isn’t exactly literal: the first 10 is supposed to represent the present, the second 10 the not-so-distant future, and the final 10 several years down the road. 10-10-10 was just a means for Welch to conceptualize the idea in a way that could be easily remembered.
The book outlines how you can use the 10-10-10 philosophy to help you make major decisions in your life in regards to work, friendship, love, parenting and your career. Each chapter goes though a couple of examples of how Welch’s friends and family, colleagues at the Harvard Business Review, readers of O: The Oprah Magazine, as well as others she has come to know through various speaking engagements, have used the philosophy to solve their problems.
In nearly all of the examples she provides, the system seems to wrap up everyone’s issues very nicely. Interestingly enough, Welch claims that she doesn’t have everything tied up with a nice bow.
Perhaps the best piece of advice I took from the book was related to how we choose our professions. Welch states that people tend to gravitate toward certain professions because they’re good at them. She gives the example of English majors going into publishing, and math majors going to Wall Street. This is indeed true, and I’m sure you know lots of people who fit similar descriptions.
However, Welch states that “aptitude doesn’t always equal passion,” meaning just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you should pursue it as a career. That is definitely something we should consider as a generation when we are looking for work. Welch also provides an example of how a young business grad named Kristin used 10-10-10 to choose between working in a small start-up company with an unstable future and a large company with a great reputation and many opportunities for promotion. I’m not going to tell you what the factors were for Kristin making her decision or what she eventually chose, though. You’ll have to read the book.
If you feel that you need some help when it comes to making decisions that can really affect you in the future, this may be a good book for you to pick up. It goes through a framework that can help you evaluate your choices in a way that makes you consider yourself, and those who also may be impacted by your decision.
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