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Hardcover
158 pages
ISBN 9781401303709 Published Aug. 2007
Hyperion Books
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Posted Aug. 22, 2011 2:58 a.m. by sally-haldorson
In - 800 CEO Read Blog
The relationship between our personal lives and our professional lives is a complex one. Some of us do our work from our houses, our children playing just outside the office door. Some of us hustle our kids off to school just before we hustle off to our jobs. Some of us work 60 hours a week in order to take that month-long trip to Italy each year. Some of us work as primary caregivers. Some of us punch in and punch out knowing we'd stay punched out if only we didn't have so many bills to pay and mouths to feed. The thing about any of these scenarios is that none of these options are indicative of balance. Each of these requires sacrifice at one time or another.
Bestselling author of the fantastic The Dream Manager, Matthew Kelly, would agree. In his new book, Off Balance, Kelly declares work-life balance a myth. A myth we have all been chasing for a quarter-century or more. "Most people don't want to hear this, and certainly our culture tells us incessantly that we can have it all, but the truth is, you can't. You cannot be in two places at one time, you cannot have it all, and so you must choose." Not only does Kelly think that work-life balance is unachievable, so we've been engaged in this sort of Sisyphean struggle, he thinks that balance isn't even what we want or need. Instead, he submits, in whatever we choose, satisfaction should be our ultimate goal.
(Ear worm alert: I can't help singing a modified version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction": "I can't get no, work-life balance. But I try and I try...." Ok, back to business.)
In Off Balance, Kelly argues that work-life balance has been beyond our reach for a number of reasons. First, work-life balance is inherently flawed because it diametrically opposes the two essentials aspects of our lives that are intrinsically intertwined. “[Y]ou do not have two lives, one personal and one professional.” Additionally, no system was ever put in place to help people achieve it. “Systems drive behaviors. Certain behaviors lead to certain outcomes. If you know what outcome you desire, the next step is to identify what type of behaviors will produce that outcome.” But balance, as an outcome, might not ever be achieved because the “urgent” is always there to wreck your well-laid plans.
So instead of searching for balance, Kelly advises that you assess your life in terms of satisfaction, and then implement the system he proposes in this book to help improve the level of satisfaction in your life. Written clearly and concisely, Kelly clearly has a love for the topic, has put his theory into personal practice, and can help you achieve a more satisfying life.
Satisfaction trumps balance, he says, because satisfaction is a value structure, is “the contentment and fulfillment that arise from the gratification of needs and desires.” Satisfaction is not about getting everything you want. He makes clear there is a difference between pleasure vs actual satisfaction, and it's a provocative and convincing point:
➻ “Pleasure cannot be sustained beyond the activity producing it.”➻ “Satisfaction can be sustained beyond the activity producing it.”
“Those [things] that only bring pleasure to my life leave me with an unquenchable yearning for more of the same.…In many ways we have become addicted to pleasure, to getting what we want, and the cost is always genuine satisfaction.”
He believes that we can be more disciplined and deliberate in how we choose to live our lives. In fact, he encourages us to live our lives strategically, applying a systems approach that he outlines in the second half of the book. “A good system is the connection between good behaviors and good outcomes.” Kelly presents five facets to establishing a system for satisfaction and how to implement them:
➻ Assessment➻ Priorities
➻ Core Habits
➻ Weekly Strategy Session
➻ Quarterly Review
Sound a bit like how you go about your work at the office? Well, it's not all that different--and that's not a bad thing, Kelly says. It's all about getting the most out of ourselves whether we are producing measurable goals at work or are becoming the best version of ourselves in the big picture. In fact, if we take what we know about setting measurable goals in the workplace and apply that knowledge to our lives, there is also a commensurate benefit to doing this for the workplace. "The future of an organization and the potential of its employees are intertwined; their destinies are linked. An organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are becoming better-versions-of-themselves."
If you have enjoyed reading such books as Well-Being by Gallup/Tom Rath, How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath, Drive by Dan Pink, and The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, you'll be very pleased by the straight-forward and pragmatic advice found in Off Balance, available September 15th.
Finding It
Posted March 25, 2008 9:39 a.m. by delicious
In General Business - 800 CEO Read Blog
Recently, I was at a popular electronic "super store" (think Circuit City/Best Buy type). I was browsing through the DVDs and noticed a flaw, basically due to the fact that I'm a big trivia geek: most of The Thin Man mystery series were shelved with movie musicals like Grease, West Side Story and everything Elvis. Odd, right? One of them is titled 'Song of the Thin Man', so I could see why that one may have gotten mixed within the musicals. But what about all the other titles in the series? Seemed peculiar to me, so I asked an employee. He said he knew about the discrepancy and laughed about it. Before he left me, I asked why he didn't correct or report the mistake. He shrugged, 'Well that's how our company has it categorized'.
Whatever happened to empowerment in organizations? What happened to taking initiative? Good will? Common sense?
Following are some titles that deal with empowerment. Just a little reminder for those who think that one person can't do anything to change the way another person, or for that matter, a company thinks.
Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment by William C. Byham
Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will by Noel M. Tichy and Stratford Sherman
Heroz: Empower Yourself, Your Coworkers, Your Company by William Byham and Jeff Cox
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
You're in Charge, Now What? by Catherine Fredman/Thomas J. Neff/James M. Citrin
Getting it Done: How to Lead When You're in Charge by Roger Fisher
Managing Your Boss by John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter
2007 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards announced today
Posted Jan. 15, 2008 3:05 a.m. by katie
In Book Awards - 800 CEO Read Blog
The day has finally arrived. After careful consideration, the winners have been determined for our first annual Business Book Awards. Nearly 300 titles were submitted which were then critiqued and reviewed by our editorial staff. A list of 13 titles make up the winners for each category as well as the Best Business Book of 2007.
8cr would like to congratulate all the winners for their hard work and say thank you to all who participated in our first awards program!
Best Business Book of 2007
Made to Stick
Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Category Winners
Advertising/Marketing:
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Random House
Biographies/Memoirs:
Bill & Dave by Michael S. Malone, Portfolio
Entrepreneurship/Small Business:
No Man's Land by Doug Tatum, Portfolio
Fables:
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly, Hyperion
Finance/Economics:
A Demon of Our Own Design by Richard Bookstaber, Wiley
Globalization:
The Elephant and the Dragon by Robyn Meredith, W.W. Norton
HR/Organizational Development:
One Foot Out the Door by Judith M. Bardwick, PhD., AMACOM
Industry:
The Last Tycoons by William D. Cohan, Doubleday
Innovation/Creativity:
Group Genius by Keith Sawyer, Basic Books
Leadership:
The Secret Language of Leadership by Stephen Denning, Jossey-Bass
New Perspectives:
In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce, Doubleday
Personal Development:
Responsibility at Work by Howard Gardner, Jossey-Bass
Sales:
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes, Portfolio
: : : :
Congratulations! You can find the full list here.
2007 Best Business Book Awards: Semifinalists and Shortlist announced today
Posted Dec. 17, 2007 4:09 a.m. by katie
In Book Awards - 800 CEO Read Blog
After nearly 300 submissions and weeks of intense reading, the 8cr editorial staff has narrowed down the top titles to be considered as the best in 13 categories for the first 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards.
The shortlist for the Best Business Book of 2007 was also announced which includes:
The Dream Manager
Matthew Kelly
The Last Tycoons
William D. Cohan
Made to Stick
Chip and Dan Heath
Strengths Finder 2.0
Tom Rath
Final winners for the will be announced on January 15, 2008. To view the complete list of semifinalists and shortlist please visit www.800ceoread.com/bookawards
Two New Fables Break-up Summer Bestsellers Club
Posted Aug. 31, 2007 8:16 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In General Management - 800 CEO Read Blog
After a summer of same-old, same-old on the Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller List, two new books appear this week signaling the start to the fall business book season.
Given some of my comments recently, it serves me right that I have to report both titles are business fables. Pat Lencioni returns with his sixth story-based book, titled The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and Their Employees). The second book, Dream Manager, is from previously published, but new business books Matthew Kelly.
We have had these two books featured, along with Juggling Elephants, on the front page for a couple of weeks, which makes us seem like we can foresee the future (hold the email, we do not have any such ability).
Jack reviewed Dream Manager this month and our new writer Jon gave a nice summary of Three Signs if you are interested in following the crowd to these new books.
