Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
“The way we succeed in work and in life is the same. It’s principally about knowing your purpose, and keeping your promises around that.” So says Lois Quam, who became an unexpected source of wisdom for small-business owners who push themselves around the clock.
I say unexpected because Quam is not a small-business owner. She is CEO of Ovations, a $6.5-billion division of UnitedHealth Group in Minnetonka. Her husband, Matt Entenza, is the DFL leader in the state House. They have three young sons. It’s as close to a 24/7 lifestyle as anyone’s likely to experience.
Yet Quam doesn’t like the word “balance,” that much-touted state between work and life that we’re all encouraged to achieve. “Balance is never a word that works for me. I’ve never spent so many hours doing this and then that. It’s too much about dividing your two worlds,” says Quam. She was a luncheon speaker at a Women for Planned Parenthood event.
“The word I use is continuity. I’ve tried to understand what I’m trying to achieve with my company, with my family, each day, each week, each month and each year.”
Continuity! It sounds so much better than chaos, which is another apt way to describe the blending of work, family, community service, fitness, school, politics and anything else important to entrepreneurs. Instead of fighting for balance, with one part of life precariously weighted way over here and another way over there, why not work to integrate all spheres into a productive continuum.
When I take a break (every 10 minutes) from producing an issue of Upsize to smile at our design director’s baby daughter, Zora — that’s continuity, not chaos. (She’s so much cuter than her dad, Jonathan Hankin.)
When I interview over the phone a business owner whose dog is barking maniacally in the background — that’s continuity, not chaos. (I know his pet pleases him more, most of the time, than our phone conversation.)
It’s continuity when a business owner gets up at 4 a.m. to read and exercise because that’s the only chance he gets. Ditto when another entertains overseas clients at her home for dinner with family at the table.
It’s continuity when a third says he’ll get up any time of night to deliver a product, when a fourth is always at the grade school soccer or hockey games. The idea is to zero in on the most important matters in all spheres of life each day, and let the rest fall away.
“You need to know the unique purpose of your organization,” says Quam. “Set goals higher than you can see. Focus on the goals of the people you serve. Apply the best resources to the most important goals.”
The bigger idea is to realize that the colossal mess that makes up an entrepreneur’s life is not a problem to be solved, or a bunch of troublesome items to be balanced. Rather it’s a rich blend of experiences that provides the foundation for a good life.
The next time your biggest customer calls just as your whole family and half the staff comes down with the flu, repeat along with Upsize: That’s continuity! The perspective might help you go with the flow of life and business.
— Beth Ewen
Editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
be***@*******ag.com
