I was flicking through the Financial Times on Sunday, hunting for the chess and bridge columns, when I came across an article about the world’s 4th richest man:

Jeff Bezos.

One throwaway line in the article mentioned a decision-making tool that Daddy Amazon is apparently rather fond of called the "Regret Minimization Framework".

Short story shorter, this is the idea that if you have a big decision to make, all you need to do is project yourself forward to the ripe old age of 80. Then ask yourself which decision will leave you with the fewest regrets.

And hey presto, that’s your decision.

It’s a quick and easy way to cut through the noise.

But it also has a teeny tiny flaw. And by “teeny tiny flaw”, I mean three big gaping holes.

First, I have no idea what an 80 year old Buddha of Banking will care about. I don’t even know what I’ll fancy for tea tomorrow, let alone what I’ll regret 40 years from now. And I’m not sure any of us can gaze into our crystal balls and predict with any hope of being right what our 80 year old selves will care about either. Unless, perhaps, it’s your 80th birthday tomorrow (in which case, happy birthday you legend).

That’s not all though.

Jeff’s decision-making framework clearly assumes that regret is the thing to organise your life around.

But why?

There are plenty of other things you could organise your life around. Like what brings you alive. What feels true to you. What genuinely interests you. What makes you laugh. What makes you cry. What you'd do if nobody was watching.

I’m not saying these are any better or worse than regret.

I’m just saying that it seems odd to optimise your life for one very specific emotion.

But here’s the bit I really can’t wrap my head around:

Even if regret were the most important thing in the world, regret is just a thought about the past. It’s got nothing to do with what’s happening right now. And last time I checked, right now is where we live our lives.

Besides, 80 year old Tom might have different priorities to Tom today. But 80 year old Tom isn’t making today’s decision.

So what’s the alternative?

Well, I'm not convinced any decision-making framework will ever lead to the promised land. But I don't think we need one. When it comes to decisions, I think we’re closer to knowing what to do than we realise. And sure, your partner might have a view. Linda from Accounts might also have a view. No doubt there’ll be shoulds, musts and ifs & buts jostling for airtime too, with a sprinkling of fear thrown in for good measure.

But once all that noise starts to settle, the next step often becomes surprisingly obvious.

This is where my 30 minute Career Clarity Coaching Calls come in.

I don’t have a fancy framework up my sleeve to take you through step by step.

Instead, I’ve got a knack of helping people see what's genuinely true for them and what's just noise getting in the way.

If you have a big career decision on your hands, hop on over here:

https://tomgrundy.coach/career-clarity-coaching/

To fulfilment,

Tom