Smarter decisions, more resilience: the new 10/10/10 rule

When we were toddlers, our immediate reaction to misfortune was to start crying, our primal reaction to despair.  Our undeveloped social and cognitive abilities just couldn’t handle not getting our way - we were actually incapable of “bouncing back”; incapable of comprehending that getting our way every moment of every day is actually not the norm!  Every kid hears the “life isn’t fair” spiel from a parent or a teacher and, with time and maturity, we learn to become resilient.  

Resilience - the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties - is a learned behavior.  As babies we wail with tears, as kids we pout, teenage years are spent eye-rolling and “whatever”-ing, and as adults we learn to adapt, to bounce back, to pick our battles.  We learn ways to work through our disappointments and setbacks.  We learn to coexist with our stressors.  

“This framework affords us an immediate, mid, and long-term view of the impact of our decision. However, this rule has lost its power in business and organizational settings since Welch developed it.”

And yet, some times are so particularly heated and pressure-laden that the tools we learned over time just don’t cut it.  That gut-wrenching argument with a spouse, that work meeting that makes your blood boil, that big decision that keeps you up at night.  In these times, we need a better tool, a more rigorous framework.

To help us deal with these particularly tough decisions, Suzy Welch created a framework called the 10/10/10 rule.  This rule is, in essence, asking yourself “What will be the consequence(s) of my action/decision in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years”.  This framework affords us an immediate, mid, and long-term view of the impact of our decision.

However large or small the crossroads, this rule does indeed help.  It is particularly good for interpersonal relationships.  For example, will waging a cold war with my spouse about the wet towel on the floor today really matter in 10 months?   Will that rude jab my sister made really matter in 10 years?  Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but I promise using the 10/10/10 rule will allow your gut to guide your action.  

However, this rule has lost its power in business and organizational settings since Welch developed it.  First, 10 years at one job or one company is almost unheard of these days.  Secondly, with the absolutely unrelenting pace of change in organizations, 10 years is likely not in your organizations’ vocabulary in any real way.  We now strive to be agile - planning quarter-to-quarter with detail given the data we’ve analyzed, and year-to-year with more broad strokes organizational planning.  And on the same token, 10 minutes is too short of a time to properly assess the "drama du jour” at the office - the old expression “let me sleep on it” holds true here - it often takes a day to really assess your next move.  

“With the absolutely unrelenting pace of change in organizations, 10 years is likely not in your organizations’ vocabulary in any real way. ”

So, in order to build resiliency with business contexts and decisions with your team or organization, I propose an adaptation of this rule:

“Will this [stressor, decision, setback] ultimately matter in

10 days? 

10 weeks?  

10 months?”

10 days (instead of 10 minutes) gives us a reasonable amount of time to predict.  10 minutes is too short - we’re often still on the same call or same meeting 10 minutes later.  A week-and-then-some is much more realistic way to imagine our decision’s impact.   

10 weeks as a mid-term view (instead of 10 months) fits nicely into about-a-quarter long.  Will this matter next quarter?  Or will the consequences of my decision be old news as the company strives to be agile and adapt to the next challenge?

10 months (instead of 10 years) is much more reasonable for a business decision crossroads.  Five and ten year plans definitely have their place, but it is unlikely one decision will singlehandedly alter a 10-year roadmap.  Therefore, 10 months is manageable and realistic way to manage a long term reflection.

The important thing is, in each of these scenarios - 10 days, 10 weeks, 10 months - we can actually picture ourselves in each scenario, "looking back to the future" on the difficult crossroads.  This framework allows us to more appropriately make sensible decisions, maintain composure, and think through consequences.  

What I like best is that it's easy to remember under times of high stress.  Try scribbling it on a post-it note the next time you're about to go into that stressful meeting.  Practice using my 10/10/10 adaptation out see how your resiliency builds, grows, and adapts.  

Photo credit @cmsadler_ via Twenty20