The short-enough term
Of course, we need to think about the short term – without which there there can be no long term.
You’ll need enough short-termism to get stuff done, and to stay alive.
Long term
But making things better requires that we make every decision with an eye to its long term consequences.
Ask yourself how this decision will play out over the next year – five years – twenty years. Will it cease to be relevant? Will it get better with time?
Is the decision sustainable…
- … personally? (in terms of the commitments and relationships affected)
- … professionally?
- … financially?
- … environmentally?
- … in terms of the time that it requires?
How will making this decision shape you and your future decisions?
What message does it send to your team and to your partners?
Will you be better positioned because of it, or does it take you in a direction that you’d rather not go?
Will someone else have to do the work or live with the consequences?
So that’s it: think long- and short-enough term.