Imagine the biography of a person who had the ‘perfect’ life, full of pleasantries without struggle. The Empty Life would recount how nothing was overcome in pursuit of anything. It would be a horribly boring story.
Adversity, uncertainty, and challenges are unavoidable and give our lives meaning. So, when business leaders attempt to create ‘happiness’ exclusively by using perks, I cringe. The Empty Life doesn’t maximize happiness – or human potential. To maximize human potential we need to struggle in pursuit of something great. This journey allows us to flourish, together.
In a company that flourishes, the CEO empowers a community to balance the struggles of risk-taking with flexible optimism. In that endeavor, the CEO’s responsibilities expand. You set forth an agenda of eudaimonia, a term the ancient Greeks used to describe ‘human flourishing.’ Here’s what it means to take the Chief Executive hat off and put the Chief Eudaimonia one on:
Theology and Ethics Professor Anthony Bradley argues that flourishing “…is characterized by a holistic concern for the spiritual, moral, physical, economic, material, political, psychological, and social context necessary for human beings to live according to their design.”
“Innovators flourish by challenging indignities the market takes for granted.”
Compare that to the catchphrase ‘work-life balance.’ I am not in favor of work-life balance. Ask yourself: when would you not choose life? It’s less about balance and more about integration. We need not isolate any dimension of our life for the sake of the other. Dr. Bradley gives us dimensions to integrate, not sacrifice.
Quality of thought and freedom to execute ideas matters more than hours of work in the digital age. CEOs who encourage teams to choose the integrated life will sustain innovation.
There is no flourishing in The Empty Life because it’s risk-free and produces no truth. We call it knowledge work after all – our job is to discover and apply truths to problems to serve our customers.
As story authority Robert McKee writes about characters, “The only way to know the truth is to witness him make choices under pressure, to take one action or another in the pursuit of his desire.”
In real life, the pressure reveals truths that define our sense of value and contribution to a company. Innovators flourish by challenging indignities the market takes for granted.
Optimism is a skill according to Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism. Human potential depends on flexible optimism in adverse conditions.
Optimists believe that bad events are temporary, contained, and not a reflection of their self-worth. Employees who apply optimism during times of struggle will see themselves and their community as agents of their flourishing.
Yet over the last decade, it seems CEOs have been tasked with making employees happy. The resulting culture fuels The Empty Life. Instead, CEOs need to empower the stakeholders of the organization to flourish with all the struggle that entails. Let’s honor the people who don’t want it easy because their quest is one of maximizing human potential.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
