This is your last home run, gladiators of venture capitalism. Get the performance you need and the results you need. December is here and your head is running the show. Focus, drive and discipline are the names of the game for 2015 successes. But are they really?
I can see some of you are ready to jump to the next page or to the end of this column. “Oh not again, not another soft comment. Marianne has lost her mojo. She is not entertaining us anymore on vintage cars, or interesting us with how to do business in Iran.”
Fair point. I will go back there. I have a lot in store for next year: Iran business community dos and don’ts, how to find off-markets deals on a global basis, the secret world of family offices, and other little gems. But right now, humour me and stay on the page.
Over the past three years, I have founded two startups. They are polar opposites – one highly analytical in the oil and gas sector, and the other one deeply human, a leadership lab. In three years I have totalled about 150 plane and train rides, travelled across the world from Mexico to Hong-Kong via New York, Lagos, Dubai and Tehran. I have clocked up an average of 14 hours a day in six-day working weeks. I have pushed the businesses as much as I have pushed myself.
Does it sound familiar? I know you readers have had a similar journey or have experienced the same thing with a shorter or longer timespan. But there is one thing you might not have experienced, this feeling of being on the edge, or the consistent lack of sleep, that can prevent you from thinking. I have probably increased my risk of cardio-vascular disease by 20% to 30%. I have been close to burning out.
So let me ask two questions: How many of you realise your physical body is your first and more important asset? How many of you are consciously taking care of your body, and by doing so taking care of your mind, and ultimately protecting your ability to perform?
Rationally, in a business world increasingly complex and fast-moving, success is a marathon, not a rat race. Mental space and the ability to perform sustainably are the keys to value creation, whatever it is you do.
Health is wealth, according to Arianna Huffington, head of Huffington Post Media Group. Forbes magazine estimated at $30bn the cost of lost opportunities from absenteeism due to health issues.
Carving out the space to take care of your physical being is as critical as getting on the next video conference call with Luxembourg to discuss a 2016 product launch. One or two hours investment a week will give you a stellar return on investment in terms of problem-solving and focus.
Start by taking care of your body to work out frustrations, and emotions – with kickboxing classes or spinning for example. My regime is two classes a week.
Complement this with ways to recover from – or iron out – these long hours sitting in planes, meeting rooms or more mundanely in front of your computer. Pilates, reformer and barre classes are top of my list. They help build a new awareness of how our body is imprinted with business events and emotions, and of how important it is to maintain fluidity and movement, for the sake of resilience and sustainability.
More importantly, consciously seek opportunities for enlightenment and peace. Meditation and yoga can help. These alone will force you to stop and breathe. This is the only way to regain focus and serenity. The benefits are enhanced capacity to observe and strategise, plus the critical skill to rise above conflict, office politics and toxic atmospheres.
If you want to be a purist, reflect on your food program – detox or go raw. The bravest can also explore medical means, such as vitamin infusions. Feed and heal your body to reach full fitness for the marathon. In a nutshell, treat your body like a venture that requires a holistic approach – body and mind – for a better business.
My chosen space for this treatment is Grace Belgravia in London, founded by entrepreneur Kate Percival and marketed as a wellbeing ecosystem. It is a women-only club, but to me it rises above any battle of the sexes. There I have found a pathway to business clarity and mental peace – a holistic environment geared entirely towards personal health and success. The ethos is simple. Protect your most precious capital – health.
Feeling well is as important as feeling good – exercise, relaxation, medicine, even anti-ageing, everything counts, everything matters. So if you want to finish 2015 on a high, make the most important investment – your health.