As an entrepreneur, our life model consists of Three Circles of Value – personal, professional/ organizational, environmental – that are strongly interdependent. These value circles represent areas of our lives that we influence and from which we benefit; they must be cultivated, managed and balanced. Each of us must ask and answer several questions in these circles to ensure that we are realizing the value in our lives.
Our Personal circle consists of those areas where we influence and benefit individually:
• Mental – Do I believe in developing myself to my full potential? Is my formal and informal education well-rounded? Do I listen to several points of view before drawing a conclusion?
• Social – How can I relate to people more fully? Is my social life full and diverse? Am I actively involved in social, fraternal or service organizations? How can I remove any toxic friends and influences from my life?
• Physical – Am I taking care of my medical needs? Do I know all of my important health indicators? Do I get enough sleep, food and exercise to function effectively?
• Financial – Am I placing the proper emphasis on money matters? Am I satisfied with my career advancement? Is my income sufficient to address my family and personal needs? Do have enough of the right kinds of insurance coverage?
• Family – Is there open communication in my home? Do I spend sufficient quality time with my family members? Am I actively involved in the education of my children and the career of my significant other?
• Ethics and Beliefs – Do I have a clear set of core values by which I live my life? Do I exemplify these values in my home, my company and my community? Am I an honest and trustworthy person? How can I demonstrate my moral and spiritual beliefs in my life?
In the Professional/Organizational circle, we influence and benefit our companies:
• Time Management – Do I keep a schedule? Am I allowing adequate planning time? Do I procrastinate? How can I control interruptions effectively? Am I prioritizing my time to meet my established goals?
• People Skills – Is morale in the workplace sufficiently high? Am I managing change effectively? How can I ensure that all employees, vendors and other stakeholders have input? Do I demonstrate good management skills?
• Sales Skills – Am I presenting the appropriate image of the company? Do I have a system for tracking my contacts, leads and results? Have I developed my employees effectively to upsell? Am I building relationships for long-term success?
• Productivity – Am I working in concert with the quality standards of my industry? Do I evaluate employees by established and objective standards on a regular basis? Is my company constantly developing new products, services or customer loyalty methods? Where does the organization rank in the industry?
The Environmental circle includes influence and benefit outside of our immediate communities:
• Home – How can I reduce my carbon footprint through energy and water conservation? Is my air and water free of toxins? Is my home as clean and organized as it can be?
• Office – Do I present a healthy atmosphere for my employees, customers and vendors? Do I have a code of Corporate Social Responsibility that I follow? How can I incorporate sustainable business practices into my operations? Am I holding my suppliers accountable for sustainability?
• Planet – Do I appreciate the earth’s natural bounty as much as possible? Am I managing my waste products? Am I conscious of the resources I use? How can I be more environmentally responsible?
As we ask ourselves these questions, it becomes clear that the overlap and interdependence is very high. Our Ethics and Beliefs obviously influence how we work in our companies and our attitude towards sustainability. Our Time Management skills at work have a direct impact on the amount and quality of time spent at home. The health of our work and home environments impact our Mental and Physical health but also our Productivity at work.
Of course, this is just a brief sample of the types of questions we should ask ourselves. Any dissatisfaction that is discovered in these areas must be the items to focus on for goal setting, coaching and any other developmental activities in our lives.
About the Author: "Stephanie Y. Toland is the principal at Athena Business Services LLC, a business process management consulting firm based in Bear, DE. She can be reached by phone (302-353-4472), by email (stephanie@athenabusinessservices.com) or on the web (www.athenabusinessservices.com). She updates her blog weekly at www.growingyourgreen.net.
