Page 34 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE CASE FOR MEANING

collegial to cynical and from cooperative to competitive.
Vicki worked even longer hours to keep her job, and she
worried incessantly about her future. The demands at
work kept her away from hobbies and friends, invaded
her relationship with her husband, and touched off old
problems with depression and anxiety. The rhythms and
routines of her life began to feel jagged and contorted
almost beyond recognition, and all her stories became
tinged with fear.
• • Work/life balance. Raj is a successful Indian entrepre-
neur, proud of the company he has built. The company
he started 12 years ago has grown to more than 80
employees, with a strong brand and customer loyalty. But
he knows that to go the next step of continued growth
he will have to invest in becoming more global and even
more innovative. This will require both personal energy
and more time traveling in North America, Europe, and
Asia, the most likely prospects for his company. With
teenage children who are both happy to see him home
and sometimes happy to see him gone, Raj knows he
would pay a large personal price for the next phase of
company growth. He debates whether he has the energy
to do what it would take to move his company forward or
should coast on previous successes for a while.
• • Undermined security and flexibility. Grant and Shirlyn
have worked hard their entire professional lives. Grant
started with his current company 25 years ago, right
out of college. Shirlyn did substitute teaching until her
children were older; then she began teaching full-time.
They had hoped that when their last child left for col-
lege they would have more opportunities to travel and
develop hobbies. Although Grant feels reasonably secure

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