For example, to schedule a meeting "first thing in the morning" now means 730am, where 5 years ago the meeting would have been at 9am. By nine, many of our "top performers" have hit the gym, had breakfast, taken the dog for a walk, written three proposals, made ten phonecalls and are on to their next shower. But is this really what we should aim for? Are these people performing at the top of their game? Or are they just doing more things half-assed?

In this job I am very lucky to get to sample many work environments, from peaceful havens where you can hear silent typing in the background, to hectic hells where no one is really sure what’s going on I have spent the last two weeks with a team that pivots around focus. The team is hunkered down at all times but it is still a very relaxed environment. Quite admirable, actually. There is definitely a busy buzz in the air but no one seems to be busting at the seams nor stressed out beyond their limits. Also, no one is ever here past 6.30pm.

By simple deduction, it’s clear that everyone has lives outside this office, happy lives, that allow them to also get some rest. With very few exceptions everyone comes in bouncing the next morning, ready for more. No one wears tiredness as a badge of honour, no one complains about not getting enough rest.

After working in the agency world for so long I have gotten used to people competing for who gets the least amount of sleep and who is the most martyred worker in the bunch. I do have to admit it but I have played the game, too. It’s inevitable. The competitive vein in me doesn’t allow me to stay behind, even when it comes to competitive suffering! What’s worse, the trend seems to be a lot higher amongst women. That’s right, ladies, we are the biggest whiners when it comes to sleeping.

In a world where women are starting more businesses and getting more education than men, at least statistically, it’s hard for me to accept this type of self-victimization amongst my gender. I catch myself doing it all the time: “I’m so exhausted”, “I’m running on 4 hours of sleep…” Even if it has been true for the last couple of weeks it feels as if we have to point it out to justify underperformance. It’s like wearing a button that says” I’m working so hard I can hardly stay up.” What a slippery slope.

The fortunate thing is that many of us are opening our eyes to the dangers of not sleeping and, more importantly, or the martyrdom of unrest, and actually being vocal about it. One of the biggest reliefs for me was watching the video of Arianna Huffington, from the Huffington Post, below on sleep and success.

Arianna is one of the most iconic women entrepreneurs of our time. Whether you agree with her left-leaning biased or her lifestyle choices, we can at least all get behind that businesswise, the lady knows what she’s doing. So take a look at the video below and let me know what you think….

Are you a victim of your own sleep cycle? Is the lack of rest getting in the way of you big idea? Are you using sleep as a deterrent or as a tool?

The post seemed simple enough to write. That was until I came across this article on the Harvard Business Review and realized that all three had one thing in common: inclusive leadership.

Let me explain. The article, “Words that Many Managers Are Afraid to Say” as part of the Harvard Business Review “Blogs” section, illustrates seven phrases that managers typically avoid using:

1. "I don't know."

2. "I was wrong."

3. "I'm sorry."

4. "Would you help me?"

5. "What do you think?"

6. "What would you do?"

7. "Could you explain this to me? I'm not sure I get it."

Sounds familiar? Or rather unfamiliar? Perhaps.

The reason for this is that managers, especially those who have been promoted over people in their team, want to appear as if they know more than the people they are managing. There is perceived an outward fear of appearing that a manager might be second-guessing their choices. Jumping into any of the seven phrases above, especially the seventh, may feel like stepping into quicksand for most managers. Admitting that you were wrong or that you don’t understand something is not necessarily indicative of ignorance or of lack of skill. Quite the contrary, according to the article, it actually implies that there is an eagerness to learn and space for a steep learning curve. That sounded promising.

I would actually like to take this one step further. When a manager apologizes, or readily asks for your opinion when necessary, it implies a desire to include you in the process. It means that that he or she respects the input of the team members enough to leave room for it. Maybe it would be a good idea to move away from the corporate culture that rewards infallibility and move into a move inclusive model that celebrates bottoms-up collaboration. Maybe that will encourage team members to put up their hands up at meetings and say “Have you thought of doing it a different way?” or “I might have a better idea.”

Indeed all three aforementioned bosses to whom I was going to dedicate this post to practice inclusive leadership every day. All three encourage participation and made sure we all were part of the process, all while risking appearing somewhat vulnerable while doing so.

Click here to read the rest of the article. I highly recommend getting a subscription to the Harvard Business Review if you are planning on diving into the business world. It’s worth the $20 per issue. If you’re not ready for it, check it out online.

There’s a scene in the movie where Tom Cruise and Elisabeth Shue are lounging around a 5-star resort talking about how they are surrounded by “million-dollar” ideas. Someone had to come up with toothpicks, and the plastic thing they used to wrap the toothpicks, and someone had to think up shoelaces and those plastic things at the end of them. And someone owned the trucks and that planes that got all of those ideas all the way to Bermuda. All of those people, in theory at least, were millionaire entrepreneurs: an idea, execution, profit. So is that all it takes? A brilliant idea?

When talking to real life entrepreneurs the word “vision” trumps the word “idea” almost 10 to 1. To most people these words are synonymous and interchangeable. To me they have a strict hierarchy because an idea serves a vision.

A vision is aspirational; it’s a starting point for something greater. By definition, a vision is conducive to action. An idea, at its core, is a solution to a problem.

In the movie example, the Tom Cruise character has the vision of what he wants this bar to be: he wants to build a place where people go to have fun and enjoy life with a simple cocktail. He wants to do what he loves and finance a life that he enjoys. This vision is what propelled him to go after his dream.

On the other hand we have the Idea Man, the business partner played by Bryan Brown, whose entire contribution to the plot is having the idea to open a bar in Bermuda. He had the idea, Tom Cruise carried the vision.

Although this is admittedly a simplistic view of things, it did help me understand the difference between the two. What separates vision and ideas? What separates the dreamer from the entrepreneur?

The answer is: very little. Entrepreneurs not only need a ripe idea to bring to life, they need to know what the endgame is going to look like. The ability to visualize and articulate an end result and bring people around it is what takes a vision from seed to success.

Claudia Barriga-Larriviere

cbl@tribalise.com

So case closed. I was writing about entrepreneurs.

This is a huge leap for me, especially considering that until a few weeks ago I had trouble even spelling the word. I had noticed that it kind of rolled off my tongue in conversations; it’s one of those words that give your IQ an instant upgrade. I call that a “ten dollar word”; like “strategic” or “conversely”. People throw the term “entrepreneur” around to refer to anything from “tycoon” to “self-employed” to “dreamer”.

So true to form, I set out to do some research. Statistically, gender and race have very little to do with entrepreneurship. In fact, there are more women and minorities starting businesses than ever before. So an entrepreneur is no longer defined as a white middle-aged male. They now come in all shapes, sizes and persuasions.

The common thread in everything I read and everyone whom I spoke to was that entrepreneurs must have vision.

Let’s face it: anyone can have “vision”. So what separates an entrepreneur from a dreamer?

After examining these traits I had a long, hard think. I did share some of the characteristic: short attention span, the restlessness, the competitiveness...Was I a closet entrepreneur?

The short answer, no. For one, I like having a boss. I am more driven my me sense of duty than by personal achievement. Had I not gone into communications, I probably would have made a good diplomat. I like the external validation, it keeps me moving. I am good at serving someone else’s vision rather than crafting my own.

Now my head is full of questions: Do you need all ten characteristics to be a entrepreneur? Is there one that is more dominant than another? Are there different kinds of entrepreneurs? How is new media changing the way they develop their vision? What motivates an entrepreneur? Are they born or bred? Can entrepreneurship really be taught? Can it be mentored?

So after days of research and pondering, I had finally arrived at a starting point for this blog: being an entrepreneur is more of a personality than a profession and, if nothing else, entrepreneurs are fascinating. I now have a brand new world to explore and a whole new set of minds to hack into.

I can’t wait to get started.

Claudia Barriga-Larriviere