In the world of capital allocation, we understand the concept of depreciation. We know that if we run a piece of heavy machinery at one hundred percent capacity without scheduled downtime, the asset will eventually fail. The cost of that failure is always higher than the cost of the maintenance.
Yet, when it comes to the most valuable asset in the business, which is the leader, we tend to ignore the math.
We treat our own energy as an infinite resource. We assume that the grind is a linear path to success. The reality is that leadership is a game of endurance, and endurance requires the intellectual discipline to stop.
The assumption is that an extra four hours of work on a Saturday morning is a gain in productivity. The trade off is that those four hours are often stolen from the clarity you will need on Monday morning. You are trading your high level judgment for low level activity.
In the insurance world, we price for risk. We know that a driver who is fatigued is a higher liability. A leader who is perpetually exhausted is a liability to their organization. They make impulsive decisions. They miss the subtle shifts in the market. They lose the ability to see the trade offs because they are too busy reacting to the friction.
True strategy requires white space. It requires the margin to step back from the spreadsheets and the client demands to ask if the mountain you are climbing is still the right one.
Recovery is not a reward for hard work. It is a functional requirement for high performance. It is the scheduled downtime that prevents the catastrophic failure of the system.
When you choose to step away for a workout, a meal with your family, or a day of silence, you are not being lazy. You are protecting the asset. You are ensuring that when the high consequence decision arrives, you have the mental liquidity to handle it.
The consequence of a life with no margin is a vision with no depth.
If you are too busy to rest, you are too busy to lead.
How much is your current lack of margin costing your future self?
I am a Canadian insurance and investment professional and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chazz Financial Inc. and Chazz Capital Assets. I write about leadership, markets, insurance, investing, and decision making, with a focus on how structure and incentives shape outcomes.
I hold a business degree and I am a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Planner®, a Certified Health Specialist and a Mutual Fund Investment Representative.
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