VP of Administration Todd Richardson explains how the new year will bring new changes in his career and personal life
By Todd Richardson
Work-life balance is the elusive topic that has been talked about and written on to death. I have come to the conclusion that the concept of work-life balance is a unicorn, leprechaun or Chicago Cubs World Series championship: It does not, nor will it ever, exist. At least it does not exist in my world.
I have a one-track mind that gets fixated on achieving business goals to the detriment of everything else. Work takes priority, and everything else in my life (religion, family, hobbies, etc.) takes a backseat. This is all going to change in 2015. This coming year will be the year of life-work balance.
Life is going to take precedence over work. My wife of 15 years and four young boys are going to get the lion share of my attention and time. Professional ambitions will yield for the first time in my adult life to family ambitions. Integrating companies, working through go-to-market strategies, focusing on talent acquisition strategies, and like professional endeavors will all take backseats to third-grade field trips to the zoo, school lunches and carpooling duty.
The reality is that my resolution for 2015 is going to be difficult to achieve. I am not delusional that having work yield to life is going to be easy. However, my boys will not be young forever. They still want to wrestle, throw footballs, shoot baskets, go swimming and just hang out with their dad. Knowing that these days are finite and that my boys will be spending less and less time at home as they get older makes it all the more important to capture this time while I can.
My lovely wife has been a steadfast supporter of my professional adventures, making sacrifices so that I could pursue my professional dreams. It’s now time to show her how much I appreciate that loyalty and support. I will be working this year to show her that she and the boys are my priority and that work will be put on the backburner.
Now that my resolution has been published in Forefront, there is no turning back. Time to go find that unicorn!
Todd Richardson is Vice President of Administration at Exact Target. He was featured in Issue No. 8 of Forefront magazine.
Todd Richardson
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