Thursday, March 12, 2015

Knowing how much is enough.

Touching farewell memo from Google CFO.

The CFO in the story knew when the question came from his wife and that was the trigger.

in our case, it could be something as drastic as a life-changing event in the form of a stroke or a major accident. Or it could simply be like the CFO, a loved one telling you a simple truth or a simple question.

For my ex-colleague who was flying frequently as a regional sales, he recounted to me the following moment that triggered that question and thought process.

His moment came when his 2year old daughter was down with high fever but he had to go off that day for a business trip. So, he decided after the trip to seek a lower-paying job without regional sales included. He did not want to have the regret of not being there when it matters the most for the family and he certainly do not want to miss the chance of seeing his daughter grew up.

OF course he did not retire completely, but the message in the CFO message was not asking you to retire, it was asking you to have a work/life balance. Your work will always be there for you, but your loved ones might not and growing up moments can never be recaptured.
I remember telling Tamar a typical prudent CFO type response- I would love to keep going, but we have to go back. It's not time yet, There is still so much to do at Google, with my career, so many people counting on me/us - Boards, Non Profits, etc
But then she asked the killer question: So when is it going to be time? Our time? My time? The questions just hung there in the cold morning African air.

http://mashable.com/2015/03/10/googles-cfo-retires-memo/

7 comments:

Createwealth8888 said...

How is to know is the question?

Wealth Journey said...

Uncle CW,

The CFO in the story knew when the question came from his wife and that was the trigger.

in our case, it could be something as drastic as a life-changing event in the form of a stroke or a major accident. Or it could simply be like the CFO, a loved one telling you a simple truth or a simple question.

For my ex-colleague who was flying frequently as a regional sales, he recounted to me the following moment that triggered that question and thought process.

His moment came when his 2year old daughter was down with high fever but he had to go off that day for a business trip. So, he decided after the trip to seek a lower-paying job without regional sales included.

OF course he did not retire completely, but the message in the CFO message was not asking you to retire, it was asking you to have a work/life balance. Your work will always be there for you, but your loved ones might not and growing up moments can never be recaptured.

Hope that clarifies your doubt.

Wealth Journey said...

Another one of those who experienced the moments. A life changing event.. and he answered the question knowing how much is enough.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/03/12/before-i-go-a-stanford-neurosurgeons-parting-wisdom-about-life-and-time/?tid=sm_fb

Yet one thing cannot be robbed of her futurity: my daughter, Cady. I hope I’ll live long enough that she has some memory of me. Words have a longevity I do not. I had thought I could leave her a series of letters — but what would they really say? I don’t know what this girl will be like when she is 15; I don’t even know if she’ll take to the nickname we’ve given her. There is perhaps only one thing to say to this infant, who is all future, overlapping briefly with me, whose life, barring the improbable, is all but past.

That message is simple: When you come to one of the many moments in life when you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world, do not, I pray, discount that you filled a dying man’s days with a sated joy, a joy unknown to me in all my prior years, a joy that does not hunger for more and more, but rests, satisfied. In this time, right now, that is an enormous thing.

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Swapnil Jagtap said...

Yes the work will be same but you will be keep wondering about how small was your children and now they are grown up so young. Life keeps moving but one should not miss the happiness.