I like your analogy and it’s a great way of thinking about it for most entrepreneurs who, as you say, already think in similar terms. As soon as I read your comment, I also started thinking about diminishing returns. As you balance your “profit margins,” you also need to take into account the value of each incremental hour over the 40 (or whatever). I know that I’ve never had a feel for it, other than that they diminish fairly rapidly. Well, maybe over 60 hours, anyway.

Another factor I think about is time-profit margin, which is probably the same thing. When we’re running a business, we’re constantly thinking of margins, and taking care not to slice too far into that, in order to maintain profitability.

I think balance is similar– there’s definitely a cushion beyond the normal 40 hour week to work with, but does the amount of time spent– with a family or without– lead to a lack of “profitability” either at your project, your relationships with family & friends, or just in personal clarity? And that margin will be different for each person.

Just kidding. Really, hun . . .

As I’ve noted elsewhere, great questions are the key to wisdom!

http://chrisyeh.blogspot.com/2007/03/wisdom-asking-good-questions.html

I think you’ve hit on the crux of the balance dilemma: You have to achieve alignment between your preferred balance and your family’s. As one fellow commenting on the Ray Lane dilemma noted, “Did his first wife and kids get a say when he made his choice?”

The tough part is that even if your spouse buys into your concept of balance when you first marry, things may change once you have kids. And once you have those kids, the die is cast–you can’t give them back!

I think that the answer to the question of whether or not I would do it the same way again is, for me, yes.

There are two important factors at play here, 1) it’s who I am – I believe I can outwork almost anyone (and, in fact, need to to keep up) and that’s a big part of my very being and, 2) I am fortunate to have a wife and kids that were accepting of the path and method I chose.

Number one is pretty basic and many people share the same ambition and drive. As a result, number two becomes a bigger factor in making a decision on whether it’s the right way to do things. With a family that’s aligned, you can make both work. If they’re not, and I imagine that most are not, you simply can’t make both sides work and you have to make a choice.

Ray Lane’s comment about it being worth the sacrifice is interesting. I don’t think I would have made the same sacrifice. I am fortunate enough that I never had to make that big choice though. All of my choices were rather small because of my accommodating family situation. Again, very lucky.

Of course, after a while and assuming some level of success, one begins to consider if he/she has done enough; collected enough; made enough and if it’s *still* worth the sacrifices. Again, it depends. If you’re doing it for more toys, then it’s unlikely that you’ll ever find any “balance” because you never can have enough. If you’re doing it for ego and/or pure enjoyment, though, there are more questions about the tradeoffs the more success one achieves, I suppose.

On your final point, can one be a good CEO/leader AND parent? Great question. I think the answer is that for most people, yes, as long as the judgment is made in the long run. If you’re working 80 hours a week when your kids are 4-6 years old, you can do no better than be an absentee mom or dad. I’m not making harsh value judgments here, just stating the fact. If you’re not there, you can’t be a good parent. IMO, parenting takes time.

Of course, all this is my own opinion. Mileage may (and will) vary with better leadership and parental skill sets.

One of my perennial posts is the question of whether it’s possible for an entrepreneur/CEO to be a good leader and a good father:

http://chrisyeh.blogspot.com/2006/06/can-global-business-leader-balance.html

What would you choose?

If you’re like me, though, it’s nice to find out how others have accomplished there goals. Sometimes, I don’t know all the levers I have to play with and other people do a better job at figuring them out.

It was compiled in October 2006 to look at what work life balance meant to different people. The term was, and still is, such a hot buzz word but on most occasions it’s used as an alternative term for flexible working. Those sitting on the 6am commuter trains with the broadsheet papers, laptop, mobile & BlackBerry are viewed with eyes of pity but what if this is their choice and they’re happy with it?

We believe that everyone should be allowed to work how they choose and not have to conform to other people’s preferences. The research also showed us that switched on employers are realising that different people want different things and are tailoring their benefits packages to match e.g. flexible hours and creche’s for some, BlackBerry’s and subsidised dry-cleaning for others.

Enjoy your free time!