Brian Gubernick breaks down the 10/10/10 decision framework: how you'll feel about a choice in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. He walks through hiring expensive team members, launching products, and taking clients whose values clash, showing how the three time horizons reveal hidden costs that shift what you should do.
Chapters
Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast. We believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get better at decision-making. You know, we love talking about making decisions, making better decisions here at No Days Off as entrepreneurs, as individuals. Looking to constantly make improvements, decision-making, or making the right decisions, I should say, is integral, right? It goes without saying that the better decisions you can make, the better it's gonna pay off for you in the long term. Today, I wanna talk about a rule that I just recently learned about from my partner, Ben. He had shared it with me, and it's called the 10-10-10 rule. The 10-10-10 rule in decision-making. Now, what is this 10-10-10 rule? First of all, it's this framework that came from an author. Her name is Suzy Welch. And what Suzy encouraged you to do with 10-10-10 was to use it to evaluate the impact or the potential impact of a decision over a few different time horizons: 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. 10, 10, 10. So 10 minutes, how will I feel about this decision I'm about to make in 10 minutes? 10 months, how will I feel about this decision in 10 months? And in 10 years, how will I feel about this decision in 10 years? It's applying these 3 different time horizons to a decision, and therefore you're able to evaluate the potential impact of that decision. Now, the purpose here of the 10-10-10 rule is to help you balance out, uh, what we would, I guess, call short-term emotions and weigh them against the longer-term consequences. It forces you to think beyond the immediate impact of our choices, which is actually pretty hard to do because we, we generally operate with a shorter-term mindset. So this 10-10-10 rule is especially useful for reducing impulsive decision-making, which many entrepreneurs are blessed with. Uh, it's also useful for gaining perspective over what really matters. And then lastly, as I just kind of mentioned, it prioritizes the long term. It prioritizes long-term goals over temporary gratification. Let me give you an example as to how this works. Here's a very, very I guess I'd say significant example because I think if you have kids, you can relate to this. It might hit home for some of you. Let's say you're deciding whether to work late or go to your kid's recital. If you use the 10-10-10 format here, 10 minutes, how will you feel about this decision to work late instead of attend the kid's recital? Well, in 10 minutes, you might feel a little stressed or guilty about skipping the recital. Now, on the same, same path here, but let's go 10 months. In 10 months, how might you feel about this decision to miss the recital? Well, you might regret missing this milestone in your kid's life. About 10 years, very long-term horizon there, right? In 10 years, in 10 years, your kid might remember that you weren't there for important moments. So, in 10 minutes, you're just stressed or feeling guilty about skipping the recital. In 10 months, you may regret missing this milestone in your kid's life. But in 10 years, the kid may actually remember that you weren't there for some important moments. Now, in this example, when you reflect on these longer-term implications, you probably would prioritize the recital. Especially if you know it aligns with your core values and your long-term goals. You can see how this format, the structure, this 10-10-10 rule can really apply to different decisions that you're facing. Let's go through a couple other examples that might help you better understand how to best leverage this 10-10-10 rule. Let's say you're a business owner, as many of you are, and you're considering hiring a key team member. And this potential key team member is a pretty expensive hire, but also a really highly skilled potential team member. In 10 minutes, how will you feel? Well, you might feel stressed about the high salary, about the high cost, and whether it fits within your budget. In 10 months though, if the hire works out, this person maybe significantly improves your operations or your sales or whatever it may be that frees up your time drives growth. And in 10 years, this decision could totally transform the business. This could be the decision to, to set you on a path to scalability, set you on a path to success. Not hiring this person could actually mean missed opportunities for growth and innovation. So the insight here is that when you focus on the long-term value of investing in top talent, even if it feels risky in the short term, it might still make sense. Another example, let's say you want to launch a new product. Well, in 10 minutes, you might feel overwhelmed by the work and the investment required for development and for marketing. But in 10 months, if the product performs well, it could diversify your revenue streams, it could strengthen your brand. And in 10 years, this might be the product that established the company as the industry leader. So again, long-term potential of innovation and growth versus the risk of remaining in your comfort zone. Now, how about going one that might go the opposite direction? Let's say you're considering taking on a high-paying client, or maybe a very needy client, and this particular high-paying client or needy client's business practices don't necessarily align with your values or your company's values. Now, in 10 minutes, if it's a high-paying client, you might feel excited about the revenue boost. You might be relieved that you're now on target to hit certain financial goals. Maybe you feel a little uneasy about the potential conflict with, with your principles, but in the 10 minutes after you make the decision to work with the high-paying client, You're probably doing okay. How about 10 months though? In 10 months, you're working with this high-paying client, but their business practices don't align with your values or your company's values. You might feel regret or discomfort at the client's behavior. Maybe even the client's behavior damages your brand reputation. Maybe it strains your team. The demands of this, this high-paying client might create operational challenges, might outweigh every financial benefit. About 10 years. This decision to work with this high-paying client might tarnish your brand's integrity, and it makes it harder for you in the long term to attract clients who do end up aligning with your values. It could leave a legacy of compromise rather than staying true to your mission, maybe what even got you into the business to begin with. So you can see in this, this example, the insight here is that although there's, you know, short-term financial gain, and it can be tempting, the long-term damage to the brand and the cultural misalignment within the team outweigh the immediate benefits. So turning away that client, declining that client, preserves integrity. And it makes certain that the clients you do work with, in fact, align with your business and its core values. Make sense? So this 10-10-10, 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years. And you can apply this rule obviously in business and decision-making, but you can also very much apply it in your personal world as well. So my challenge for you today, when you're about to, or when you're, when you're considering a decision today, I want you to run it through this 10-10-10 framework. And see how it impacts the decision that you're going to make. Does it in fact change the direction you go, or does it make you feel even more confident in the path that you're about to take? That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]
