JUST ENOUGH:

TOOLS FOR CREATING SUCCESS IN YOUR WORK AND LIFE

An Interview with Laura Nash, Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Business School

By Rick Goossen, Executive Editor

Re-defining Success?

According to Nash the response has been largely positive in workshops and boardrooms where the core concepts of the book have been discussed. Nash indicated that, “Across the board there is this enormous positive feeling that there is a need for a ‘new’ definition of success. People are fed up with the greed and workaholic lifestyles that support today’s success models. They see the personal stress and organizational dysfunction that has come with the celebrity culture. They’re looking for something more lasting that will help them sustain multiple goals in their lives and their work.” When Nash discussed a balanced approach to success among entrepreneurs and venture capitalists there was an acknowledgement that the one-dimensional pursuit of financial success did not make for a content person. At the same time, Nash was prepared for the expected resistance to some of the book’s concepts.

One typical objection is that to survive, business depends on highly-focused, overachievers. Indeed, sacrifice of other aspects of one’s life is supposedly a sign of the real contender’s dedication, the proper ransom for the greater prize. These ueber-achievers argue that “limits are for losers.” But there are downsides to this approach, too. Never good enough becomes an addiction to work, and less than the best so unsatisfying as to be not worth the effort. Nash would liken this to the kid in a race with his friend who, upon seeing that he is losing, stops running and claims “I wasn’t trying, anyways.” Admiration for these hard-charging executives may be turning to pity as co-workers and families witness the psychological burnout that many overachievers experience. Nash remarked, “What surprised me is that this one-dimensional view of success is becoming a minority opinion – more and more people are recognizing a broader definition of success.”

But, why is this view of success changing now and is this a temporal or fundamental reorientation? Nash suggested that while there may be a cyclical element to society’s reappraisal of a money-oriented culture, there are some unique factors. Compared to the 1980s, there is a “fragmentation of people’s universe – globalism, fragmentation through the internet, micro-segmentation of formerly mass media markets, and companies that are much bigger in terms of financial complexity and power. In short, “perhaps we bulked up too fast.” Additional factors may be that post 9/11 there has been more introspection as to the significant things in one’s life. As Nash stated, “when you trip, you automatically look down.”

The subtitle of the book is “Tools for Creating Success in Your Work and Life.” More commonly over the past decade or so, work and life have become viewed as inseparable. The compartmentalization of the past is no longer acceptable to business people. Workers are more self-focused. The corporate employer will no longer look after them for the long term, so the individual takes on that responsibility. The “free agent” mentality of employees, lack of allegiance from company to employee, the independence afforded by the internet, and the ongoing growth of entrepreneurship have allowed workers to carve out a means to seek a work and life balance. Precisely because workers have more options to pursue the fulfillment of their dreams in conjunction with their work, the choices around success have become more difficult to execute.

Enduring Success

Nash and Stephenson state in the preface to Just Enough that, “You cannot separate individual success from the success of the organizations in which we are embedded: family, work, community, and the world. Our goal is to enhance your ability to handle legitimate performance difficulties in today’s business environment and to help you to understand how this skill depends on deeper commitments to an authentic view of success.” Thus, work and life are truly intertwined – the whole person sits at his cubicle or her corner office every day.

Each person needs ongoing, achievable success in multiple forms. Nash and Stevenson define four important outcomes in order to generate what they refer to as “enduring success:” achievement, happiness, significance and legacy. First, achievement means striving toward the extraordinary in some form. This is an ideal of excellence, an innovation, a personal stretch, an expanded capacity beyond that of your competitors without the frustration at partial victory. Second, happiness is experiencing pleasure or contentment in and about your life. Third, significance is giving value to others, contributing something valued by society and the people you care about. Fourth, legacy is the sustained impact that will build other people’s success. This is not a flash in the pan achievement, but having an impact beyond your present influence on the lives of others.

Within this framework of the four factors of success, Nash and Stevenson propose a concept of a “kaleidoscope strategy” to address goals in each of the four categories without shortchanging other goals. This is a method for allowing individuals and business to “switch” and “link” between the goals. Nash and Stevenson argue that enduring successes are people who are actively engaged in hitting moving targets and yet do it in such a way that they create a set of coherent set of satisfactions for themselves and for others. The outcome is that, “When you achieve these goals, success feels satisfying and worthwhile: Just enough.”

Nash and Stevenson stress two major themes in Just Enough. First, they “caution against the assumptions of celebrity and thinking that what you expect from success can be gained by putting your all into the One Right Target.". While bookstore shelves are replete with titles that highlight the power of focus, Nash warns that this type of approach is likely to create an imbalanced life and an unstable basis for financial performance over the long term. Second, the co-authors argue “that everyone needs to construct a success framework." Those who do not think through their priorities and how to manage them, are likely to be subsumed by society’s stilted notions of success. They become slaves to the demands of short-term shareholders or to expectations of over-consumption in one’s personal life.

Goal setting & Tough Choices

A significant point raised in Just Enough is that lofty goals are great for motivational purposes, but may be debilitating in the long-term if they are not considered in light of the total picture of success. Setting your sights unrealistically high may lead to severe disappointment. The enthusiastically-uttered aphorism that “what the mind can believe, the mind can achieve” sounds quite nice when cannonading from the front of an auditorium to an adoring audience, but it is a tad impractical the next morning. As a result, “It’s important to bring your goals down to the admired but possible reality.” An important tool is the self-definition of success, according to one’s individual commitments, rather than as defined by external norms.

The approach of “just enough,” and achieving balance, will typically involve a person making tough choices. According to Nash, people are often constrained by self-imposed boundaries. They assume that unless they can have the whole perfect picture, the default solution is to take a job that makes them miserable or abandon high ambitions altogether. They may buy into a societally-imposed notion of success that dictates job location, type of house, type of car and position in a firm. Along comes an opportunity where the pieces don’t fit automatically. You see a great job in Silicon valley but the pay level precludes buying a house in that expensive location. The inflexible person with maximum expectations in each category of desire will now be caught in success gridlock. Nothing short of winning the lottery or founding a successful dot.com will solve their issues. And yet if this person was more flexible, he or she might scale down their lifestyle expectations and pursue the job, or find a job with similar characteristics in a less expensive location. With a more complex set of flexible goals, an individual creates a range of options instead of allowing their self-imposed notions of financial success to short-cut their ability to achieve a balance between work and life.

To combat decision-making myopia, Nash points out that people must “scrutinize their theory of causation.” In short, “know thyself.” Know what you really value and what you seek out of success. What is the reason for accepting the higher-paying job in a far-off city that is not embraced by one’s family? What is the reason for stretching the budget on a bigger house – with the bigger mortgage, bigger payments, higher property taxes and more maintenance? Are there ways to divide these goals into pieces that can be transferred to another domain when the job doesn’t let you have it all? Say, for example, you satisfy your love of a certain lifestyle by staying in a favored city at a big hotel during vacation time? Three days of pampering may be just enough and still allow you to spend time every day with your kids in a house that doesn’t take all your spare time. A frank self-assessment can lead to more balanced decision-making.

One aspect of “just enough” that is not covered in the book, but mentioned by Nash, is the inequity of present reward system in executive ranks. A common element of today’s business environment is that top executive pay is hugely disproportionate to that of other employees. The high pay of corporate executives – including golden parachutes that could land an entire squadron – are out of whack with society’s view of reasonableness. The reward system is “irrational” and the “upper end is inflated – this is beyond rational pursuit.” The system “begins to lose its coherence. It reinforces the idea that only the strongest ueberachievers deserve success. Inevitably, the executive compensation is converted to personal opulence and self-indulgence, reinforcing the notion that financial gain is the engine of life success. From the standpoint of just enough, this is far too much wealth, and yet far too little in terms of resources for the good life.

Personal & Organizational Success

In terms of practical applications, Nash states that the book can be used on a personal and organizational level. First, Just Enough has a “fractal” value. There is the “private application” of the book whereby an individual can use the tools for their personal life management. An individual, depending upon his or her role within an organization, will have differing degrees of control as to how to implement the concepts in Just Enough. An entrepreneur in charge of a small, high-growth company could structure his or her lifestyle around a suitable balance. On the other hand, a mid-level manager might be fighting against the culture of his or her department or organization in order to achieve a balanced life. Solutions will have to be explored in the domain of life outside work—or the job must be changed. In either scenario, the individual takes the initiative to create a work and life equilibrium.

A second aspect is the “systematic application” of the tools in the book to be applied on an organizational level. This would mean creating a work environment in which the multiple dimensions of a person’s being would be recognized. An adaptation of this approach from an organizational perspective can be useful, because an imbalanced leader will likely have similar expectations of his or her executive team. Nash mentioned that, “if you are an uberachiever who puts your own interests first, last and always and you are leading a company, you will sap other people’s ability to develop beyond a supporting role-- if you don’t burn them out first.” This is “not a sustainable model.” Perhaps not all executives want to sacrifice everything for a company they have not founded nor in which they have the same ownership stake and for which their entire ego is on the line.

There is growing evidence that companies are integrating a drive for greater balance for employees. A recent article appeared in Canada’s leading newspaper titled, “Employers find value in letting employees chase their dreams[:] Flexibility is key to more productive, happier work force” (Globe & Mail, July 26, 2004, by Virginia Galt). Galt states that, “there is a growing recognition that it makes good business sense to allow employees to pursue [their passions], bringing a whole new dimension to the work/life balance.” Galt cites examples where employers allowed staff to produce plays, perform charitable work or travel. This trend mirrors Nash’s concept of allowing an individual to achieve a balance with the cooperation of their employer, thus allowing scope for the development of an individual’s entire being. The key is not to “collapse” these facets of character into one narrow channel of performance at work.

Self-Help & Self-Improvement

But, is Just Enough simply another “self help” tome? Nash has encountered this issue in her workshops. Her response is that, “I am not trying to sell you a philosophy. I am trying to get you to ask questions about your philosophy. That way you can anticipate and evaluate the complex choices that work and life pose.” She is guiding business people to ask: what is my model? What are we buying into? Is there a way to reasonably improve the picture by changing the mix of targets in my life? These questions should be asked at every stage of a person’s development: “If you are imbalanced during your university studies, chances are that this form of one-dimensional commitment will transfer over to your career.” Of course, not everyone will be open to a reconsideration of the scope of career objectives – just enough may be viewed as far too little. Nash acknowledged that she “wasn’t surprised that a minority of people didn’t find this approach of ‘Just Enough’ useful.”

Would executives from other cultures find this discussion useful? As stated in the book, “Self-improvement is a particularly American phenomenon, and the territory of success resonates with this value.” Nash indicated that Americans are prone to view money as a “one-stop solution” for their life’s woes. Executives from other cultures, as she indicated from those attending Harvard Business School executive workshops, readily identified with what they saw as the non-American approach of Just Enough. They all recognized – whether from Asia, Latin America or Europe – that the money-focused model was not dominant in their culture. Thus, Americans are perhaps most in need to the points raised in this book.

Conclusion

In short, Just Enough provides a useful antidote to the one-dimensional portrayal of success and presents a model that takes into account the other dimensions of a life well lived. Yes, people on their deathbeds are rumored not to say that they wished they would have spent another day at the office. But many have acted that way right to the end. A book such as this will provide practical tools to integrate four categories – happiness, achievement, significance and legacy – and thus create enduring success in a person’s work and life.

© 2004 Journal of Business Strategy - www.journalofbusinessstrategy.com

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