General Colin Powell wrote
“Remember the balanced leader will beat the workaholic, not just once in a while – but every time.”
Can you imagine, can you comprehend the benefit of a balance between work-life and personal-life. Many years ago when I was working for a major car manufacture I got caught up in the work and found myself working excessive amounts of hours.
One day as I was crossing the plant on my way to another ‘crisis’, a thought passed my mind, “How many fewer cars would they build if I just fell dead right now?” The answer is the obvious “Not one less car”. That started me on a journey of prioritization at work of critical task, important task and I’ll-get-to-it-if-I-can-task. What a difference this made. My personal productivity improved and when I realized this I quickly began working with my sub-ordinates to prioritize their work as well. The end result was that for any of my subordinates to work beyond fifty (50) hours in a given week they had to have “Permission-in-Writing” from me. No exceptions, no excuses, no “if-ands-or-buts” permission in writing or go home. The growth in productivity was astounding, mistakes became few and infrequent, energy levels increased, attitude improved. You might say “Life-Happened”. I have tried to apply these lessons to all aspects of my life ever since. Awareness It’s Amazing.
