Did You Miss It?

Joe Raasch — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:26:26 -0500

When approached to be part of the team that writes for FastCompany about Work/Life balance I thought, "what a great opportunity!" and added the project to my schedule. I was directed to post once a week, on Friday.

I did not post last Friday. Part happenstance, part intentional. No post here from me.

Did you notice? I did not hear from readers, bloggers or the folks at FastCompany.

Huh.

Where Were You Today?

Joe Raasch — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:22:06 -0500

In the retailing business, today is Black Friday, the first official day of the Holiday Shopping Season. Did you shop today?

I did not shop today. The only dollars we spent were on the standard 4-month checkup for our baby. All is well.

That said, there appears to be tremendous pressure to shop:

Modeling

Joe Raasch — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:57:28 -0500

As a leader of people, you're in the spotlight, on the proverbial (modeling) "runway" more than you know...maybe more than you like. But it is part of the job.

When you speak to your team about work/life balance, what does that look like? Not sound like, but look like? You may say, "people are our greatest asset" or "I believe we should be able to strike a reasonable balance between work and our families". Are these smart Leadership 101 platitudes or do you, in our heart of hearts, believe it to be true? True enough to follow the intent yourself...

Give Some, Get Some

Joe Raasch — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:22:25 -0500

Where Do You Eat?

Joe Raasch — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:58:28 -0500

Many of us are at our happiest and most productive when we're doing tasks we love. This could be at home, at work, at the gym, drinking coffee at the corner shop. If you spend some time thinking about it, there is something that you do that really feels like it exists just for you to do it.

When times get a bit stressed, focusing on these greatest tasks can help you create room for the less desirable, but necessary, work that doesn't excite you.

Equity, Not Equal - Is it that scary?

Joe Raasch — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:33:30 -0400

For anyone reading blog posts in this section of FastCompany, it is readily apparent that "Work/life balance" takes a variety of forms, explanations, perceptions and meaning. As I have written before, I do not believe that work/life balance means "50-50". Balance is flexible in that some days I work 18 hours, other work days I take off (like today's vacation day!). That's balance for me. In the spirit of Halloween (that was an easy pun), I am going to address a scary topic: the difference between equal and equitable.

Just A Little More May Be Too Much

Joe Raasch — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:16:24 -0400

My wife's former college roommate and her family (husband, two children) are in town from Chicago. It is great to have the opportunity to spend the weekend with them!

We had planned on their arrival Friday morning. They called from the road and were able to make it up early, Thursday evening. At 7pm. Now we had just a few hours to prepare our house for four guests. Yikes!

Being a Rock Star Creates Balance Opportunity!

Joe Raasch — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:40:01 -0400

Does the term "rock star" permeate your workplace? Rock star as in someone whose work, accomplishments, mere presence, is legendary and feels like a rock star is in the room?

I have a different take, from Bob Lefsetz - he of the mercurial Lefsetz Letter:

Work/Life

Ebb and Flow

Joe Raasch — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:20:31 -0400

EBB

Crisis

Joe Raasch — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:23:41 -0400

"In times of crisis, give help first, then advice."

Seems like a simple, easy to follow quote. Ever catch yourself giving advice first?

Here is an example:

Your friend routinely skips breakfast. By 1pm each day, he is ravenously hungry. You stop by his office to ask a question and there he is, eating pretzels by the handful. He starts to choke, and is visibly scared.

You could: