EASIEST Mental Model to Assess New Opportunities! (The Art of Prioritization)

In this video, I discuss the mental model I use to assess new opportunities that come my way. Check out Andrew's blog post about the topic here: https://tinyurl.com/2y3dzctf and follow Andrew on twitter here: https://tinyurl.com/bde4f4e4 If you have any questions, reach out to me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/galbra1th/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Galbra1th Also, connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronjgalbraith/ Email me at: camerongalbraith@me.com Check out these WSO Courses to prep for a career in consulting or finance: IB Prep Course - https://il130.isrefer.com/go/IB30off/Galbraith/ PE Prep Course - https://il130.isrefer.com/go/PE30off/Galbraith/ PE Master Package - https://il130.isrefer.com/go/PEM100off/Galbraith/ Elite Modeling Course - https://il130.isrefer.com/go/EM100off/Galbraith/ Venture Capital Course - https://il130.isrefer.com/go/VC100off/Galbraith/ Tags: Mental Models, Best Mental Models, Sahil Bloom, Sahil Bloom Mental Models, Andrew Yrung, Andrew Yeung NYC, Andrew Yeung Event, The Art of Prioritization, How to prioritize opportunities, how to decide, how to prioritize new opportunities, the rule of eight, mental model for decision making, mental models for decision making, decision making mental models, assessing new opportunities, consulting, finance, big 4, how to get a job on wall street Script: Ever since I started my new job about a month ago I’ve found less time in my days to commit to outside activities. But just because that time is shorter than before, it doesn’t mean that I can’t get everything that I want done and pursue everything I want to pursue. I have Parkinson's Law to thank for that. I want to ensure that moving forward, I only commit to things that I know are right for me and the goals I have set for my life. But I’ve struggled to find a perfect system for this… until I came across a blog post by Andrew Yoong, a product lead at Google, who also hosts amazing tech events in NYC. So, in this blog post I’ll be talking about the system I use to assess potential new opportunities. I think this system will be helpful whether you’re a student in college deciding what clubs to join, or a recently retired person deciding where to volunteer. So, let’s get into it. **The Art of Prioritization** Andrew created a “mental model” consisting of a basic checklist with 8 requirements that allow him to rank inbound opportunities. If the opportunity meets all the requirements — say YES to it (provided you have the time and energy) If it meets less than 5 of the requirements — say NO And anything in between is a MAYBE Here are the 8 requirements: 1. **Learning & Experience** – will you learn new skills and gain relevant experience? 2. **Relationships** – will you build valuable relationships? 3. **Personal Brand** – will you elevate your status and personal brand? 4. **Compensation** – will you be fairly compensated? 5. **Impact** – will it help you positively impact the community? 6. **Personal Values** – does it align with your personal ethics and values? 7. **Future Opportunities** – will this open up doors for exciting opportunities? 8. **Fun** – will it be energizing? If an opportunity checks of all of these boxes then it should be a no-brainer - do it! But if it only meets 6 or 7, it may require a deeper look at the goals you have and the outcomes you want. **Framework in Action:** Here’s a chart I created that puts this concept into action:  Simple right? Putting opportunities through this mental model allows me to see if it is really worthwhile. But as Andrew mentions, there still are other things that need to be considered, such as: **Time & energy commitment** — do you have the time (and energy) to be involved? **Are you set up for success?** — do you have the right skills, experience, and circumstances to be successful? **People** — will you be working with the right people? **Risks** — are there impactful risks that you need to think about? It is important to be realistic. Trust me, I know how easy it is to get excited about an idea in the moment, but then realize after he fact that there were certainly some red flags I missed. Also, if every project is passing your criteria, then maybe its time to raise your bar, because you do want to make sure you can commit enough time and energy that the experience is valuable for you. **Conclusion** But overall, if you follow this framework, you will eliminate a lot of excess noise in your mind and in your schedule and allow you to realize what ideas are most worth pursuing. Personal finance, assessing new opportunities, cameron galbraith, consulting, NYC, cameron gabraith NYC, mental models for new opportunities