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These three questions can help you choose your next big opportunity.
How do you decide what your next project should be? If someone offers you a new opportunity or a new job, how do you know whether to take it? How do you choose your next big move?
Adam Grant, Wharton organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author, is known for research and insights about why people do what they do.. So, unsurprisingly, he is very deliberate about his own decision-making. For example, when considering topics for his next book, he asks himself questions that help him make up his mind. He explains this decision-making process in detail in a recent episode of the TED podcast WorkLife, in an interview with its new host, Molly Graham.
I thought his questions were very insightful. I wondered if similar questions could help entrepreneurs and business leaders with the choices they make. So I asked him. And he generously shared a version of his questions that could apply to many business situations. Wondering whether an opportunity is worth the investment of time, effort, and money it requires? Asking these questions should help you make up your mind.
1. Interest: Will I wake up in the morning excited about it?
We usually consider how much money we’ll need to invest in an opportunity. We may also consider how much time and effort we and our team members will have to put in. But new roles and new projects also require an emotional investment. You have to care about something enough to pour in the hours and attention it needs. And you’ll really need that passion on the inevitable days when things go wrong.
So before committing, it’s smart to ask yourself how enthusiastic you feel about this new opportunity, and how badly you want it to succeed. If that excitement isn’t there, you’re better off saving that effort for something else.
2. Importance: Does it align with my values?
When considering a book project, Grant asks himself this question: “If everyone on earth understood this topic better, how much better would their lives be and how much better would the world be?” That question works perfectly for his newest book, Vibe, coming out in October. It’s about how people form relationships in the modern world. That’s perfect for these times, when more and more people feel isolated.
Realistically, not every project or role you take on will change the world for the better. Maybe it will simply make life a little easier for your customers, or help them do their jobs a bit better. Maybe the biggest benefit will be to create greater economic security for your family and for your employees.
Whatever it is, the new opportunity should support whatever is most important to you. If it doesn’t, you may find yourself spending your time, energy, and attention on something you don’t believe really matters. And that’s not good for anyone.
3. Impact: Can I make a unique contribution?
You may feel passionate about something, and it may line up perfectly with what you think is most important. But are you the best person to take on this challenge? Most of us are happiest when we bring our skills and perspective to a problem that we’re particularly well suited to solve.
This is especially important when it comes to writing a book, because that’s an extremely crowded that landscape. But it applies to other things too. If you want to create, say, an app that helps busy parents find child care, you need to ask yourself how your app improves on the options already out there. You need to ask yourself what particular skills or viewpoint you bring to the problem, even if it’s just your own experience as a parent desperately seeking a babysitter.
Are you uniquely well equipped to solve this problem? Do you see it as important? If so, you may be a great fit for this opportunity. And does the thought of working on it every day makes you truly happy? Then it’s likely a good fit for you as well.
This post originally appeared at inc.com.
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