I laughingly read Meg Cadoux Hirshberg’s article from last month’s Inc. magazine, “Living with a Blackberry Addict” - and showed it to my eleven year old (with some amount of guilt and chagrin).  “That’s not you Mom”, he said with all of the nonchalance that an 11 year old boy can have.  “You’re not an addict - you just work all of the time.”

I was a little shocked - but not surprised.  I don’t know how many folks are dealing with work family issues this year - trying to find a way to make all of the pieces fit - but for me, 2009 has been one of the more challenging times in my 25 year career - and not just because of the invasion of this (sometimes) wonderful technology and a pervasive 24/7 mindset. 

In her Inc. article, Hirshberg writes, “Entrepreneurial businesses are colicky babies that never stop screaming for their owners’ time, energy, and imagination.  Their families are in a constant battle for attention. For the entrepeneur, maintaining work-family balance involves managing guilt on both sides.”  And that’s certainly how I’ve felt for the last nine months - no pun intended. 

That’s why I’m so excited that Stew Friedman, a long-time professor of business and leadership at the Wharton School is coming to talk at our next “Un-Marketing” event on September 16th.  Friedman suggests that leadership needs to be thought about in all aspects of our life but traditional thinking pits work and the rest of our lives against each other.  His philosophy of Total Leadership - taught at the Wharton school for over 25 years now - says that you don’t have to make trade-offs among work, home, community and self. 

Instead, if you take the time to:

• Reflect on what’s important to you and how you’re spending your time
• Brainstorm possibilities
• Choose experiments that you can try and
• Measure your progress

You will have more energy for yourself and those who are important to you - as well as have more success in all areas of your life.

Hirschberg, who is a student of Friedman’s, speaks glowing of his work and the impact that it’s had on her life.  She’s married, by the way, to Gary Hirshberg - the co-founder of Stonyfield Farm and so has lived the entrepreneurial dilemma first- hand. 

What’s even more exciting - Friedman’s research suggests that people who focus on the concept of Total Leadership have a 20% to 40% increase in satisfaction in all of life’s domains and a 9% improvement in job performance - even while working shorter weeks.

This is particularly heartening to me.  I’ve always thought that I did a good job at the “integration game” but 2009 has proven to be a challenge…Instead, maybe it’s an opportunity for my own growth and development as a business person and a human being - and the chance to try a few experiments of my own!

For more info on Stew Friedman’s talk on the 16th at the Independence Seaport Museum, check out the link under “News and Events” CEO Think Tank’s homepage.  Or click here!