10-10-10 Decision Making

A ten-minute decision may be necessary for action, but it may also be a decision

shortly afterwards to be regretted. A decision with a ten-year perspective may be quite

different based on many uncertainties, but such decisions may have life-long

consequences.

Example:

1. To become a doctor or a professor requires forecasting and making many

assumptions. The rewards may be great, but require many ten-month decisions how to

acquire financing, forgoing the purchase of a house, or skipping vacations with the time

be devoted to studying.

2. For managers, the 10-10-10 rule can become a valuable strategic decision making

tool such as for resource allocation. The decision may have immediate consequences,

intermediate consequences (let us say in ten months or a year), or long-term

consequences such as a major investment in a new product or project.

Raising the time perspective of the consequences may result in better short-term,

immediate-term, and long-term personal as well as managerial decisions.