Firm Management
It’s Really the 21st Century Now
I’ve started working with my clients to help them develop 10-year personal finance plans for the new decade and have quickly found how few people really, seriously look that far ahead. And while 10 years isn’t a lifetime, it’s a good place to start ...
Feb. 20, 2020
We’ve spent the past 20 years trying to figure out what to call the decades of this new century. The Oughties? The Teens? Finally we can get into some decades that are easy to identify as we slide into the ‘20s (I don’t think they’ll be “Roaring,” but maybe another adjective will catch hold). I began this year and this new decade, as I usually do, spending a lot of time reflecting on the year just ended and contemplating the year ahead, considering future plans, making some general resolution-type to-do list items, and putting together a general vision of things I expect/hope to accomplish in the short term.
But 2020 isn’t just about the short term. This is the opening ceremony for a new decade, and so it is fitting that we look at the bigger picture, spend some serious time anticipating where we expect to be in 10 years when this decade closes and how we are going to get there.
I’ve started working with my clients to help them develop 10-year personal finance plans for the new decade and have quickly found how few people really, seriously look that far ahead. And while 10 years isn’t a lifetime, it’s a good place to start for a solid future plan.
Your clients, your practice, your colleagues, and your family, could all benefit from a 10-year analysis and game plan. There are some solid advantages to looking at a bigger chunk of time instead of just trying to plan for the year ahead.
Major projects require time. You might have a vision of where you would like your career, your business, your personal relationships, your health to be in the future. By turning major life-changing goals into a one-year resolution, you’re likely dooming yourself to failure. One year just isn’t enough time to make major changes. Instead, take the time to map out a long-term goal with interim steps that can be accomplished at intervals over the course of the next decade. A decade gives you the luxury of spreading out the tasks required to get where you’re going, checking in on your progress as you go, and fine-tuning your goals as you reach annual milestones. And with a 10-year span in front of you, if there are setbacks, you have plenty of time to adjust your schedule.
This is not a quick assignment. Take an appropriate amount of time to consider your future goals, discuss them with others who will be impacted, and put those goals in writing along with a timeline for the decade that is in front of you. Create intervals when you will check in on the status of your progress as well as the steps needed to get you where you’re going, and put those check-in dates on your calendar so that you can hold yourself accountable.
One way to get started is to think about where you were 10 years ago and where you hoped to be today. Were you successful? Did you make a plan for that decade, and were your goals accomplished? If you didn’t record your goals for the decade and the processes necessary to accomplish them, it’s possible you haven’t progressed as much as you hoped you would.
Here’s your chance to make a fresh start – picture the you you want to be 10 years from now, how you will get there, and how you will look back on this decade. Look at all the accomplishments you will have made! The ‘20s are waiting for you!