Burnout Zone

! You !

The Burnout Zone

This is exciting stuff … But… Bad News … this work

environment is a “grinder” like Pro Sports

Pro Sports• Pick your favorite sport• Now try to name a top athlete who

has not had a significant injury.

• Friend -- It was so cool. I got inside the Canucks dressing room … Weird though … the most memorable thing was all the surgery scars. Every guy had one.

“Rules, Boundaries, and Limitations”

• Sport stars have a defined schedule, doctors on staff, time off between games, etc– Loads of rules, boundaries, and limitations

in search of optimum performance.

• Business Leaders– Boundary-less schedule, few (if any)

doctors, no time off, … more– Ie no rules, no boundaries, no limitations in

search of ???

Fred Wilson - VC• Ten Meetings Per Day

– http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/11/ten-meetings-per-day.html

• In Comments– “long work day today, started at 7am today

and will finish at 9pm

but today is unusual, I generally start at 8am and am done at 6pm, but I can do nine one hour meetings in that span or 8 one hour and 2 thirty minute meetings”

Packet Engines - VC Funded Startup

• Basic Hours– M-F 7am - 7pm– Sat 7am - noon– Sun off– Holidays off

• Project “Plan of Record” Meetings– Friday 11pm– “the only good time to meet”

John Morgridgex-Cisco CEO & Chair

• The podcast description finishes with “He also discusses the personal sacrifices that he believes an executive must make to succeed.”

• http://iinnovate.blogspot.com/2007/12/john-morgridge.html

Have You Experienced• Getting dizzy spells during a meeting. • Watching a colleague fall asleep during the weekly update.• Watching a customer fall asleep during a meeting.• Forgetting a close colleagues name.• Forgetting a bosses name.• Forgetting how I got to this meeting room.• Getting dizzy spells on the drive home.• Not being able to get out of bed for 2-3 days after a big

conference.

(burnout pre-cursors)

: Hint :

you need to use a Pro Athlete

as your model wrt/ rules,

boundaries, and limitations.

Schedule Your Family Time• And make it Priority #1

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Work / Life Balance• You will be 60 work / 40 life

• At best … likely 70/30 with 100/0 times.

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Staff Your Home• Your home requires staff

– Get a nanny– Get a housekeeper– Get a gardener

• Do this earlier … It takes a while to get good at this.

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Medical• Get a doctor• Schedule your annual Physical• Get a fitness plan ( do it )

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Single Tasking• Can you multi-task while playing a

sport?• Can you multi-task while

presenting?• Can you multi-task while listening?

• Think single tasking … get deeper into your tasks.

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Exercise is Very Important• “Exercise is 3x more effective than

any other activity in promoting brain health”, Dr. Max Cynader, UBC 2011.

• About Max Cynader– Canada Research Chair in Brain Development at UBC– http://www.brain.ubc.ca/about/cynader.htm– There is a podcast at end of this page “The Ageing Brain: How to Age Successfully”

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:Hint #2: