After a business meeting you have three missed calls from 1) your boss, 2) your biggest client, and 3) your spouse, who do you call back first?
I admire the example of David Checketts, former CEO of Madison Square Garden, on putting family first. During his time as CEO, he worked 15-18 hours a day, 6 days a week, for over 10 years. Although he had a demanding career he made sure that his family remained his top priority.
“If my children call me during the day and leave a message, I return those calls first, not last. I’ve had to run out of meetings and run out of critical situations to make my children a priority.” An example of his dedication to his family occurred during his last day as CEO at Madison Square Garden. He was meeting with his boss with whom tensions had been mounting for weeks. During the meeting, Checketts received a call from one of his sons.
“Dad, Winston is dead” (the family dog). Checketts hung up and turned to his boss and said, “I’m going home, my kids need me.” His boss was livid but Checketts stayed true to his word and walked out of their meeting. He went home, ignoring urgent messages from his boss so he could focus on his family during a difficult time. In reflection, Checketts said, “it wasn’t a tragedy to leave an eleven-year business venture. But had I missed my sons and daughter coming to the end of an era in our family that would have truly been tragic. It is an evening I will never forget.”
On a recent work trip, I noticed that my co-worker, Scott Welch, also makes family his top priority. As CPAs, January through April is a busy time of year entailing long hours to meet deadlines. We were working in California and his children’s bedtime back at home was well before we left the client’s office each night. Scott took time daily to step away from work to FaceTime his wife and children before they went to bed. He asked them about their days and talked to each one of his children individually.
I tend to get so focused on the task at hand that I ignore other priorities. I do this with the motivation to complete it as soon as possible so that I can focus on what I really want to do (i.e. be with family). During this same work trip, I waited until my work finished before calling my wife each evening. Unfortunately, by that time each night, I was exhausted and my conversations with my wife were not as good as they could have been had I called a few hours earlier when I had more energy.
I’ve since set a goal to be more flexible while I’m working or doing other tasks to make time for more important priorities. How can you better balance work your other priorities?