Suzy Welch is the real deal

I recently had the opportunity to see Suzy Welch speak. Suzy’s husband is Jack Welch, the famous CEO of GE. Suzy is the real deal. Her newest book, 10-10-10, is a simple concept on how to make decisions and feel good about it. If you make decisions that you feel guilty about, especially decisions between work and home life, you need to read this book. Again, the concept is simple but makes an impact.

Every week we are challenged to make decisions. Benjamin Franklin said the only two things that are certain are death and paying taxes. Jim Hunter, servant leadership guru, reminds us that people avoid paying taxes every year. There are hermits living in remote areas who don’t pay taxes at all. Hunter reminds us that the only two things that are certain are death and choices. It’s been said that we make over 5,000 choices a day. Deciding not to choose in and of itself is a choice.

The choices we make define who we are. Suzy explained that her decision-making process relies heavily on one’s values. Our values are those things mom and dad instilled in us during our childhood and young adulthood. These values support us in our decision making and allow us to cement them in a framework that gives us peace once our decisions are made.

Are you living your life trying to please everyone? Do you try to satisfy both your work life and home life equally? It doesn’t work that way. You can’t be 50/50 all the time. You favor one or the other and that’s OK as long as it aligns with your values. Combined with values, Suzy looks at decisions this way. For example, if you make decision X today, what will be the impact of this decision in the next 10 minutes, the next 10 months and the next 10 years? It’s a simple framework for making challenging decisions. Make a decision to make better decisions. Suzy can help!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Buy her book, 10-10-10.