Years ago, when I was still a teenager, my father taught me a method of evaluating options when making difficult value decisions. These types of decisions were mostly about which school to attend, career path, job positions, and major purchases (home, car, home improvement, etc.). This method was meant for objective decisions, not emotional ones. Difficult decisions are difficult because of the various criteria involved. Emotional decisions are not part of this equation, so please do not use this post when deciding whom to marry, because I have been divorced twice; so you’ve been warned. Any complex decision entails 5-10 separate criteria, items of consideration that are going to be difficult for each option. The decision-making process is complex because each option is going to hold to each of those criteria differently. If one of your options is overwhelmingly favorable across the board, then it really is not a difficult decision, it is a slam-dunk, a no-brainer. Most
Most of us will spend a majority of our career in Middle Management. Instead of dreading it, embrace it for what you can glean from living in the ultimate squeeze play.