Framework
10-10-10 Rule
Three time horizons in under five minutes.
- Best for
- Emotional or reactive decisions
- Time needed
- 5 minutes
- Origin
- Suzy Welch, 10-10-10 (2009).
Ask how you'll feel about the decision in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. Short-term emotion usually dominates our reasoning; the two longer horizons quietly bring perspective back.
Use it when
- You feel a strong pull toward a fast decision.
- You're about to send a message, resign, or spend a lot.
- You want a fast sanity check before committing.
Skip it when
- Purely analytical decisions with no emotional charge — go straight to pros/cons.
- Genuine emergencies that require action inside 10 minutes.
The steps
- 01
Name the decision in one sentence
Write it down. Vagueness helps emotion win.
- 02
10 minutes
How will I feel about this immediately after?
- 03
10 months
How will this look in the arc of a year?
- 04
10 years
Will I even remember this? Will it have shaped anything?
- 05
Notice which horizon dominates
If the 10-minute answer is loudest, wait an hour before acting.
A worked example
"Should I send this angry email to a colleague?"
10 minutes: relief. 10 months: awkward meetings, damaged trust. 10 years: probably forgotten, but shapes who I am at work.
Outcome
Draft it, don't send it. Reply calmly tomorrow.
Where it quietly breaks
- Answering all three horizons with the same emotion.
- Skipping the 10-year question because it feels theatrical — it's the anchor.
Run this on a real decision — in Compass.
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