The Unexpected Perils of Balance

Balance.

For many balance represents the Holy Grail. You might aspire to:

Work/Life Balance.

A balanced approach to your business strategy.

A desire to please all Customers.

And yet, often, you don't really think about what that means in terms of your decision making; what you stand for, what you believe in and the results you achieve.

In other words, striving for balance is fraught with risks.

I know, you might be shocked at this point, especially considering the first one on my list - work/life balance - but, please read on with an open mind.

First, let's talk about the reverse of the idea of balance. The reverse of balance is a clear and driving preference; a priority or a choice.

Work and the rest of your life are important, but which do you choose first? And how can you integrate both, given your overriding preference?

How strategic is it when you attempt to cater to every group, trend and buzzword with the goal of being inclusive and balanced? How does this "balanced" strategy" inform your future?

Are all Customers created equally? Can you really want to please everyone? Would focusing on a perfect Customer positively change your actions and results?

I believe that your answers to these questions may lead you to wonder, if only a little bit, about the wisdom of striving for balance.

The mental picture I get of "balance" is of the old fashioned scales, where items are placed on opposing golden trays to be weighed; one against the other. When this is done, seldom does the scale come to a dead balance without some amount of on-going teetering and movement.

Or consider another example of balance - two kids on a teeter-totter. Try as the kids might, it is very difficult to have it balance exactly.

With all of this as context, let me be more specific on the perils of making balance your goal.

Balance is bland. The old line says "you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything" can be modified to help me make this point. "If you try to balance everything, no one will ever be happy." How successful are advertisements, products or projects (to name just three examples) that try to please everyone? I mean, hardly anyone hates vanilla ice cream, but if given 30 choices, is vanilla what you would pick? With balance as your primary goal beware of creating bland, lifeless results that engender no passion.

Balance provides no clear direction or focus. If you state everything from profitability to reliability to safety to environmental consciousness (I could go on) in your strategic plan or vision, what do you really stand for? If you exclude the word safety, does it mean you don't want safety? If safety is a defining factor or differentiator (think Volvo), great. If not, including it as one of your key items to make sure you have balance keeps you from focusing on the things that will make you special - and provide direction for decisions. 100% balance means no one (including you) knows what matters most.

Balance is a moving target. Like the scales, achieving balance is an ever moving and adjusting target. Take work/life balance. Does it mean you never, ever work after five pm? Does it mean that you never leave in the middle of the day for something important to a family member? Chances are neither of these are true. You make decisions - one at a time - trying to adjust the scales or teeter-totter to find the formula that works best for you. Growing up on a farm, for a variety of reasons (including having a family life), we generally didn't work on Sundays. But if a storm was coming and there was a task that needed to be done before the rain or snow, we might very well work part of the day on Sunday.

Balance is the wrong goal. Creating balance in a business process or between work and family or between standardization and creativity isn't the right goal. It may be a path that moves you toward your goals, but perhaps the biggest peril is that the effort required to find the elusive balance may be keeping you from actually achieving the goal (or ultimately achieving what you most want)!

Of course there is nothing wrong with striving for balances in priorities, situations, methods or any number of things in life. Your challenge should be to keep these efforts in alignment with your ultimate goals allowing the benefits of balancing without the perils of achieving absolute balance.

Potential Pointer: You must be careful what you strive for because often you will achieve it. Such is the case with balance, which for all of its value and allure, doesn't always provide what you hope for once it is achieved, if it even can be achieved. Consider your goals related to balance carefully to make sure that, if gained, it achieves what you most hope for.