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MICHAEL’S CASE(*)

Michael came with the rather unusual decision of what to do with a large amount of money that was likely to be coming his way soon.

STAGE 1: UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION AND DECISION

Here is Michael' situation: 

Michael’s Emotions:

Michael was worried about the money that was coming his way and the changes that it would bring. Although someone who is not normally anxious he felt this anxiety very strongly but was unable to locate where this anxiety precisely lay. He suggested that it might be to do with factors such as the responsibility that came with so much money and using it well, with the possibility of his life pattern (of a wife and friends, and doing a job he enjoyed) being disrupted and with being seen differently by people around him. Part of the problem surrounding this issue was Michael’s view of himself as someone who is ethical and not driven by money and traditionally ‘capitalist’ considerations and the possibility that he would become a millionaire - how would he and other people view this possible contradiction.

Michael’s Options:

Although anxious, or perhaps because he was anxious, he had put off thinking much about what to do. He did tentatively suggest the options of giving away the shares before he received the money, or waiting for the shares to realise and investing some of the money in a pension, and putting some in a charitable trust. He was concerned that while giving the money away might do some good it was also a way for him avoiding the issue of what to do with the money, as even if he gave it away somebody would have to decide what to do with it, and he wanted to make sure the money was put to good use.

Expanding the Understanding of the Situation:

As we investigated Michael’s problem it become clear that there was more to the situation than at first appeared. Michael had been writing a book, on and off for the last fifteen years, on the spirituality of economics. This book was a critique of the purely capitalist foundations of economics and he offered instead the view that economics should be based around the community and the whole person. Although central to Michael’s views about the world he had put off finishing this book because of a mixture of the need to sacrifice his work of starting companies in order to write the book and fear of how the publication of this book might - like the money - lead to changes in his life pattern. Michael stated that it was hard for him to do something for himself as he tended to do things only if they were for someone else so it was hard for him to make the time needed for the writing. He was also anxious that the book, if it became well known, might undermine his work with his clients as they might see him as not capitalist enough, and that it could lead to him being taken up on a lecture circuit and again his life being disrupted.

STAGE 2: WHAT MATTERS

In order to try and get clearer on what would be a wise decision for Michael we investigated what he valued connected to the decision he was facing. We identified these values and Michael gave them these weights (out of 10):

Michael’s Values:

Michael’s analysis of these values went to considerably reduce his anxiety about what the affects of getting the money could be. In fact many of these values were uncovered through Michael’s analysis of what had gone wrong in the lives of his three former partners who had become millionaires. These partners had not done anything constructive with the money they had realised, as they did not know who they were and what they were trying to achieve, they did not act within their competence and consequently they had harmed others through their financial mismanagement, and furthermore they damaged their relationships and current lifestyle.

This analysis of the experience of his former partners, and how their lives had been negatively impacted through their failure to live according to the sort of values that Michael had identified as important, showed Michael that he had less to fear from the wealth than was suggested by his previous levels of anxiety.

STAGE 3: GENERATE OPTIONS

We then generated possible options for Michael coming up with these ideas:

Michael’s Options:

STAGE 4: ASSESS OPTIONS

In analyzing these options it became clear that one of things worrying Michael was that he would become swamped by the demands of sorting out the use of the money in any organizations that might be set up. However it also became clear that Michael very much enjoyed working as a team player and was happy to devolve responsibility to others. This being so many of these options could be pursued without Michael being solely in charge, and another source of anxiety was reduced.

Given that Michael would not need to be in complete control of whatever he set up it also became clear that these options were not mutually exclusive. Michael rejected the possibility of setting up a chair as 'not really him' and was drawn towards trying to finish writing his book and then, if this took off, setting up a foundation. Meanwhile he thought he would invest the money ethically, as this would provide a good use for it and also keep it available should he get into the position of setting up the foundation. He would continue working as he presently does and invest some for a pension.

In the analysis it seemed that Michael had produced a potential win-win option that would capture much of what he valued. Now it was time to test whether this option really was in accordance with his values

Michael’s option tested against his values:

(A value fully satisfied is indicated by a '5', not satisfied by a '0', while a '?' indicates uncertainty over whether the value will be satisfied. Under this mark is an explanation of why this value will, or will not, be satisfied by the option)

Checking this option against the values showed that this option captured much of what Michael saw as important in his life. However a couple of the values were recorded with question marks by them. These were areas that Michael resolved that he would prepare himself for over the coming weeks and months. This is how he saw it:

Michael had partly put off doing more on the book because he tended to work when he saw himself as having a duty to work, which was when he was contracted by people to help them to set up their companies. While he did believe he had a duty to write the book he also found it difficult to allow himself the time to do this. Michael resolved at the end of the session to work to give his own projects a higher value, and even decided that if the company was not floated on the stockmarket he would try to find more time to devote to the book for, as he pointed out, many people wrote books in more difficult circumstances.

Another remaining area of worry was how the money might lead to changes in relationships with friends. Michael thought that on reflection this might not be too much of a problem with the friends that he and his wife had but he would also prepare himself for possible difficulties.

The final remaining area of worry was how he and others would view him as both criticising the economic system and benefiting from it. Michael decided that he would put some work into trying to reconcile his views about this.

Michael’s anxiety dissolved as he clarified his values and future:

At the end of the session Michael’s anxiety about the changes to his life that the money would bring were reduced and he had become much more committed to writing a book that he thought might have a chance to change the world for the better. Michael said that he found himself much better able to prepare for the future as he had now become aware of the sorts of factors that might change in his life, and he had ideas for how he wanted to manage these changes. In broadening his view of the problem facing him, working out the values that he wanted to live by, and finding options to realise these values, he had come to see that he could work to avoid the negative consequences that happened to his former partners and instead aim to devote more time to realising his worthwhile projects and making good use of the money. By making wise use of the good fortune that would come his way Michael would have a chance to make a significant impact on changing the world for the better.

* Details have been changed to preserve the privacy of 'Michael'. This case comes from a decision-making workshop