My column from the Tennessean this week:
So why do entrepreneurs start businesses, anyway? Certainly, a fundamental reason is to make a living and build a nest egg.
But entrepreneurs can be driven by something much more than that. They can become obsessed by the challenge and thrill of “the deal.” Once they make it past the start-up period, some will try to take their businesses as far as the market will let them. To them, success is measured not by their ability to provide for their family, but by how large they can build their business.
Still others become serial entrepreneurs — starting business after business over the course of their careers. But there is a risk for entrepreneurs who are driven to build their businesses even larger, or who can’t wait to start that next deal. They can become almost addicted to the deal-making process; they can become what I call an “entre-holic.”
While building businesses that provide for our families and that create good jobs for others is a noble act, some entrepreneurs can easily lose balance in their lives.
The pursuit of the deal can begin to crowd out the other things in life. Entrepreneurs need to keep in mind that we all are more than what we do in our work, more than just business owners. We are spouses, parents, friends and citizens.
Life requires balance
Entrepreneurs need to take actions that lead them to be good at all that they are called to do in their lives. That may mean that they temper their ambitions to make sure they have time for all the other things that are important.Finding balance can be quite elusive for those of us who love to pursue opportunity. I have wrestled with “entre-holism” for much of my working life. Like many entrepreneurs, I am addicted to opportunity-seeking.
This never was clearer to me than when we sold our health-care company. After the sale, I was immediately ready to seize that next opportunity. I had the plan. I had the funding.
Luckily, I also have a very wise wife. She said to me: “You are in time out. No deals for six months.” She recognized what I did not — that I had let the pursuit of the deal consume me. It defined who I was and left no room for all of those other things that we are called to be in our lives — a parent, a spouse, a friend.
My “time out” forced me to really spend time discerning what I should do next. And eventually I realized it was not that next deal.
Now, I need to be clear that entre-holism is a disease of relapse. Even as an academic, a professor at a university, I find myself slipping and thinking of pursuing too many opportunities rather than leading a life of moderation. Just this past year I had three book projects going all at once.
Why? Because each project seemed too good to pass up.
But once again my wife was there to rescue me. When New Year’s rolled around, she gave me my resolution for 2009. “You will only read books in 2009.”
I agree with everything you said about seeking balance in life (this idea applies to other professions as well) but I think there is another perspective some entrepreneurs have as to why they start a business once or pursue a career doing so.
In their mind they may be dealing with a different timeline than what is traditionally thought of as a balanced approach to life. Rather than the traditional daily balance they may seek balance on a monthly or annual basis. They anticipate long periods of intense work and compensate with equally long periods of relaxation. Though not ideal, this may be how an entrepreneur’s mind assesses an opportunity and attains balance while pursuing it.
Unfortunately this somewhat unconventional approach to hunting opportunity often leads to stressed personal relationships, so the old adage of “Everything with moderation, even moderation” applies.
I think finding balance requires an incredible amount of self-control and discipline. While learning discipline to work hard as an entrepreneur or anything else is one thing, it’s another thing to discipline oneself into a well-balanced life. When I think about this topic I am reminded of a passage in the tales of King Arthur when Merlin tells Arthur that his scabbard is stronger than his blade. By this Merlin creates a metaphor for strength under control or meekness. As a student, I find myself constantly pursuing new ideas and projects usually at the detriment of older ones. At some level, I think every American naturally struggles with having a balanced life. Some have had greater success than others. As for me, I have to keep reminding myself that any strength, drive or discipline can become a weakness if left “unsheathed.”
Finding balance is very important for me. I personally am interested in serial entrepreneurship so I know finding that balance is going to be very difficult. Because I am still new to entrepreneurship I’m not educated enough in real world experience to reliably see the consequences of my decisions between my ventures and personal life yet. My goal for now is to identify what’s important to me in my personal and professional life and to plan for the points at which those goals will be in opposition so that my values are maintained. Belmont has been great at helping me conquer this important part of assessing myself as I move forward in entrepreneurship.
Perhaps what makes “finding balance” such a hard endeavor is that it is a very individual process and it is so hard to measure. First you have to define balance for yourself, and then you have to have some way of knowing when you’re actually there. That requires a very high level of self-awareness and an inner measuring stick. American society teaches us leave our inner measuring sticks behind early on in our development so that we can push ourselves in sports, school, and work. It is a personal journey to regain that inner compass.