The Power of Balance

Four Inc. 500 CEOs profiled have managed to balance the scales of work and life -- to the benefit of both themselves and their companies.

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Though all work and no play may make Johnny a dull boy, they can also make him rich. The single-minded drive that brings about that monetary success, however, can take its toll on future business growth. "There's a certain kind of creative generativity that I believe requires getting away from the everyday work," says psychologist James Waldroop, cofounder of Peregrine Partners, an executive development and retention firm in Brookline, Mass. To pull off that great escape, says Waldroop, entrepreneurs must learn how to delegate -- something that runs counter to the very definition of the breed. The four Inc. 500 CEOs profiled below have nevertheless managed to balance the scales of work and life -- to the benefit of both themselves and their companies.

The Family Hour

Heather Howitt
Oregon Chai (#18) Portland, Oreg.
Most afternoons, Heather Howitt, CEO of Oregon Chai, arrives at her office in the rain-soaked city of Portland, Oreg., covered in mud. Her lunchtime two-hour run in nearby Forest Park complete, she blots her feet and gets down to business -- sometimes passing along the stroller holding her napping one-year-old son, Sawyer, to the nanny, who will take him home, other times handing Sawyer over to her sister-in-law, who's an intern at the company. And sometimes she just settles the baby in a crib that she's set up in her office, along with a changing table, a swing, and a bouncy seat. "We've got a family element going on here," says Howitt, 32, explaining how she balances motherhood and the responsibilities of running an $11-million manufacturer and marketer of tea lattes. "Our office is a very casual place."

"We've got a family element going on here."

Howitt is quick to acknowledge that she's achieved her equilibrium by making some key hires during the past year. Those have included her chief operating officer (also a runner), who's taken over managing operations and finance. And she's given up making sales calls. "I used to come in at 6 a.m. and make calls nonstop," she says. "I don't have to do that anymore."

Howitt has eased up on business travel, too; she now mostly just attends trade shows. And whenever possible, she brings Sawyer along, provided that she can fly first class. "It means Sawyer will be six inches farther away from grabbing someone's hair," Howitt says. "Once, when we were in coach, he tried to chew on this head of gorgeous blow-dried hair in the seat in front of us, and then he dumped a glass of ice water on the poor woman. I'm so stingy -- I hate flying first class. But now it just makes so much more sense."

A Life Plan

Mark Holland
Ascend HR Solutions (#17) Salt Lake City
Every Monday morning, before his workweek begins, Mark Holland, 40, pulls out his Visor and reads: "Wendi is the most important person in my life. My family comes before work and other activities. I live my religion. I provide the financial security for my family. Our home is a retreat from the challenges of the world. I have a positive attitude, looking for and developing the strength in others. I help people develop and grow, including, when appropriate, holding them accountable. The outdoors provide a needed sanctuary and retreat for me."

That is Holland's personal mission statement, which he drafted in 1998, following a crisis in his business, $11-million Ascend HR Solutions, which provides off-site human-resources services. That year the company experienced an $800,000 loss, which sparked a bitter partnership battle and was so stressful that the six-foot Holland lost nearly 20 pounds. The CEO wrote his mission statement, which was inspired by a Stephen Covey seminar, out of a determination never to sacrifice his family and his health for work again. "The Covey training gave me a good smack upside the head," says Holland.

"Wendi is the most important person in my life."

Over the past two years, the statement has grown into a life plan for Holland and his wife, Wendi. So far the "plan" consists of a 30-year itinerary on Lotus spreadsheets that covers the couple's finances (including retirement and college savings), vacations (planned a year and a half out), exercise regimens (four times a week on the stationary bike for Mark), spiritual activities, work goals, personal relationships (including Mark's reconciliation with a sibling), and personal growth. "We asked, 'What are the important things? What do we want to have happen before we die?' " says Holland.

The two review the plan thoroughly at least once a month and discuss their progress in specific areas on long walks that they take twice a week in a nearby park, their two-year-old daughter on Mark's shoulders and their five-month-old son in Wendi's Baby Bjorn front pack. "The plan is dynamic -- it changes," says Holland. "It's been really good for getting our relationship and our lives back to where they needed to be."

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