Leadership Archives

Life and Work Balance Is Doable (Post 2 of 3)

In the first post in this series, I outlined thoughts on the HBS article from Paul Friedman of Wharton.

At the core, his article is about an approach to work, life balance.

He shares the first step is being real. The next step is being whole. Ways to be whole include:

Being clear on expectations
Helping others
Creating supportive networks
Using all of your resources
Artfully managing boundaries

Here are a few of my own notes on the above:

On being clear on expectations, I’ve found Dale Carnegie’s Key Result Areas are a solid tool for setting and managing expectations.
On helping others and or creating supportive networks, check out the book Give and Take.
For artfully managing boundaries, keep in mind that people treat us the way we allow them to treat us.

The final post on Friedman’s thoughts will include ideas around being innovative

Life and Work Balance Is Doable (Post 1 of 3)

The September issue of Harvard Business Review had an article titled “Work+Home+Community+Self”. Sort of clumsy title… but a good article.

It was written by Stewart D. Friedman, a Wharton professor. He’s the author of Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life.

His take on life balance is based on a concept he calls “four way wins.” The four ways are work, home, community, and self. Instead of trade-offs between these four different parts of a life, his approach is to look for a way to have a “win” that improves all four dimensions.

Interesting approach!

In leadership, he proposes following three guidelines. Be:

Real
Whole
Innovative

In being real, he states leaders need to know what matters, embody values, line up actions with values, use stories to share values, picture your legacy, and hold yourself accountable. “Getting real” took me some time.

For example, on my first wedding anniversary, I told my wife to celebrate on her own… not a good call!

Luckily, since then, I’ve righted the ship and identified personal values that drive my life: caring, commitment, humor, and honesty.

On my next post, I’ll share additional thoughts on Friedman’s on balance.

Building a Best Place to Work Published in Octane

Entrepreneur’s Organization

My thanks to Octane magazine for printing my article “Building a Best Place to Work” in the September 2014 issue.

Octane is a magazine exclusive to members of Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO). Because of this, you won’t find it available in stores but you can view a PDF of the article here.

Building a Winning Business – Patience with New Employees

Building-a-Winning-Business-Book With introductions and administrative formalities out of the way, it’s time for your new team member to roll up his proverbial sleeves and get to work. Understandably, your expectations are high. You’re finally going to see this genius in action!

Take a deep breath,make a cup of tea, and repeat this ancient Chinese proverb three times: “He who makes no mistakes, usually makes nothing at all.”

With software and probably every other creative endeavor in the world, a poor first draft is almost a requirement. Just expect it. Actually, do more than that. Give your new employees support and encouragement—you know they’re capable of getting it right.

Tom’s Takeaway: “Nothing of value is created without time and effort. Be patient with new employees and communicate your confidence in their abilities. People usually live up or down to our expectations of them.”

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Thoughts Since the Book:

Error on the side of “stepping in early” for employees who seem to need more help, training, or resources. If you have a rigorous hiring process, it makes sense to support new folks 110%.
Similarly, for new employees who are “hitting it out of the park,”step-in early and provide additional training and team members to help them increase their impact on the firm.
The $’s associated with a wrong hire are huge (10’s of thousands of $’s). Treat it as such.

Star Tribune Features Intertech in “Communication, culture boost Intertech”

Intertech is featured in the article “Communication, culture boost Intertech” in the Monday, July 28th, 2014 Star Tribune business section.

As shared in a previous post, Intertech was named the #1 employer in the 50-150 employee category and a special award winner for ethics in the Star Tribune’s 2014 Top Workplaces award.

My thanks to the Star Tribune for supporting the local community with the Top 100 Workplaces and my special thanks to our customers and employees for making us possible.