Playing for the Win

September is here which, for many of us, no matter how old, we remember as “back to school”, the start of a new year. As you all know, I think in decades, not years. This was the second summer that I watched my husband go off to Burning Man without me. I first went with Rob in 2012 to usher in my Sixties, with the slogan “back to the Sixties in my Sixties”. We went again halfway through my 60 – 70 decade, and again in 2022 to celebrate my 70 . And now Burning Man is “so last decade” for me.

No matter what age or stage of life you are, the next best decade yet can start now. Every decade since I was 8 years old, I have set a vision for who I will become ten years hence. And then a game board on how to turn all aspects of my life – self, family, work, citizen – into practice fields to work on “getting here from there”. The decade game board is not a series of plans, metrics, and goals. It is a “choice” architecture that helps me know what to say “yes” to. This framework helps me stay on track to ensure my decisions and choices are in service of my dreams, not my fears.

There is more good news, which brings me to our next EPIC! rule of the game.

EPIC Rule #28: There is no "wrong move" in the Decade Game. The next move is always perfect.

Do you remember feeling paralyzed in college about what course to sign up for? As if that decision would be determinative in your life? Or are you sitting with the agonizing question of “What is my next move?”. What I have learned over the decades is that there is no such thing as the wrong answer or the wrong move. If you know what you want to learn and how to discover meaning in whatever move you make – then the next move can always be a good one.

This “jui jitsu” move (meaning “gentle art”) requires you to hold time in a different way. It turns out we overestimate and over index on what can be done in a year, and dramatically underestimate what can be accomplished in a decade. The time pressure of a year narrows our perspective on what is possible and fools us into thinking we can predict outcomes. When you give yourself 10 years to accomplish your dreams, you know instinctively that anything is possible in a decade. Just think back on all the unpredictable twists, turns, miracles, and challenges you have navigated over the last decade.

Having been a strategy consultant for almost 50 years – I have told countless leadership teams the following: “Your job is not to predict the future. Instead, it’s to prepare yourselves and your team to embrace an unpredictable future buoyed by your core purpose and values – what is your unique contribution to the world at large.

In the Decade Game – you are the CEO, the Chief Experience Officer, and the CIO, the Chief Investment Officer, of your time, your talents, your trust and your treasure. With a dream destination in your sights, your north star, any move is a great move.

If you are ready to play the game, my next virtual Decade Game Master Class starts on October 5th with two 2hr sessions, and then continues every Monday for 6 weeks for 2hrs starting on October 14 . You can learn more and register here.

Game On!

Love and light,

Carolyn