The Work-Life Balance Myth: Rethinking Your Optimal Balance for Success (BUSINESS BOOKS) - Hardcover

McNeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1260468895 ISBN 13: 9781260468892

Publisher: McGraw Hill, 2021

Synopsis

An empowering guide that will show you how to shed the myth of the “work-life balance” by merging the seven key components that make up your life to attain harmony and whole-life success

“All of us have Seven Slices in our lives: our Family Slice, our Professional Slice, our Personal Slice, our Physical Slice, our Intellectual Slice, our Emotional Slice, and our Spiritual Slice. These all need to be served in some fashion―and in serving them, they, in turn, serve us.”

This relatively simple but profoundly critical concept is at the heart of the method executive coach David McNeff has used to transform the lives and careers of his clients. It begins with two important facts: 1) stress happens―you can’t avoid it; and 2) your existence is composed of far more than “work” and “life.” 

Too often, we divide our lives into those two general categories, but we’re all a lot more complex and our lives are richer than that. By being clear and mindful of all aspects of your life―the Seven Slices―you’ll be more likely to find inner harmony when stress impacts one of them. In The Work-Life Balance Myth, McNeff takes you on a deep dive into each of the Seven Slices, explaining the components of each Slice, signs that you may not be attending to each Slice in a healthy way, and hands-on methods for accessing an underserved Slice.

The Work-Life Balance Myth won’t make your life perfect―no one can do that, and you shouldn’t trust anyone who makes that promise. What this book will do is provide you with proven new ways of framing your life, seeing stress for what it is, and vastly improving your ability to navigate the emotional challenges that will inevitably arise in a way that serves your Seven Slices. 

About this title

About the Author

David J. McNeff, a former college athlete fascinated with peak performance, founded Peak Consulting Group in 1995 to develop executive talent and bolster performance of executive teams for companies all over the world. He is a sought-after speaker for such large keynote events as WorkHuman, and he has written for media outlets including Forbes, Fast Company, USA Today, and more.

From the Back Cover

"For years I've thought that work-life balance was a myth, but I could never articulate exactly why, or suggest an alternative approach to dealing with all that was being thrown at me. Dave's Seven Slices approach now gives voice to my feelings and thoughts. I've unknowingly been dealing with several of the Slices without fully understanding how many there were and what specific processes I should use to incorporate them into my like. Today, more than ever, Dave's insights and approaches are more timely than perhaps even he'd imagined. As we deal in the current and post Covid-19 environment, Dave's teachings and insights will provide the guidance necessary to navigate our current and future world."
--Les Brun, Chairman and CEO, Sarr Group

"There are many books that claim to have the answers on how to navigate the sea of competing demands in our lives. Most of them are impractical and filled with hyperbole. The Work-Life Balance Myth is filled with practical approaches to cope with our busy lives in ways that strengthen our relationships and make us healthier. An easy read, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to achieve greater harmony and balance in our modern world."
-- Jesse Harriott, Head of Analytics, WorkHuman

"Dave McNeff's Seven Slices Method is a revelation. A user-friendly distillation of a career's worth of earned experience and wisdom into an insightful road map for behavioral change. You'll never look at how you spend your time the same way again! There are practical suggestions for how everyone--even those who think they have no time--can incorporate critical missing Slices of life into their day, and in doing, move closer to cracking the elusive code of achieving harmony and fulfillment."
--Gordon Woodward, Partner and CEO, Kohlberg & Company

"You can't lead other people until you can lead yourself. You can't lead yourself until you have an understanding and a plan for how you want to live. This book is a practical guide on how to make choices and set priorities that will result in a more fulfilling and impactful life."
--Tim Toll, CEO, Iovate Health Sciences International, Inc.

"While much has been written about work-life balance, Dave McNeff offers a refreshing and inspiring perspective that creates a path to a more fulfilling life. The Seven-Slice Method enables practitioners to avoid the two-dimensional work-life balance trap and find more meaning in every Slice of their lives."
--Patrick Spear, President and CEO, GMDC/Retail Tomorrow

"Having held leadership positions for decades, I've read many books, and spoken with many consultants about business leadership and management. This new book by Dave McNeff is different. Its holistic, multi-faceted, real-life-centered framework sets it apart. For those of us who have had the privilege of working closely with Dave, we can now, thankfully, be joined by many more who can access his methodology through this outstanding book. A great read--and an even greater approach to life!"
--Tim Oyer, Managing Director, Wolf Greenfield

"For over 35 years, I have wrestled with trying to solve the work-life balance problem. This book helped me appreciate that my challenge has been focusing only on two variables of a seven-variable equation. It literally solved the problem. It has changed my life!"
--Tom Smith, Managing Partner, Mason Wells Private Equity

"Dave's ability to constructively orient members of our firm to tackle their own limiting factors has enhanced the way we work together. The Work-Life Balance Myth provides a wider audience with tools to reframe how they can succeed across all aspects of their lives. The book substitutes the elusive goal of a work-life balance with a focus on the Seven Slices of your life and provides a road map to a more productive, impactful, and sustainable professional and personal existence."
-- Sam Frieder, Managing Partner, Kohlberg & Company

"Dave McNeff's concept of the Seven Slices of life can help reduce daily pressure in a way that really enables readers to no longer feel locked into rigid work-life paradigms. It's a perfect book for these tension-filled times. I heartily endorse it!"
--Rakesh Tondon, Cofounder and President, Le Tote

"It is so refreshing to have finally discovered a book that puts to rest the age-old work-life balance question. The difficulty of attempting to fulfill the promise of WLB can lead to high stress. Dave McNeff offers an alternative, one in which several Slices of life replace two gigantic ones. As a result, my stress levels have already begun to decrease. Thank you, Dave!"
--Keith Cooper, seven-time CEO and entrepreneur

"Dave McNeff's breakdown book is a great step forward. I call it a 'breakdown' book because it breaks down previously common assumptions, especially that work-life balance is realistic. Instead, Dave ingeniously replaces the work-life balance myth with a new approach, the Seven Slices. This book will open your eyes to a refreshing and eminently practical work-life solution. Read it!"
--Jim Harrington, VP and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Radius Pharma

"David has worked with several of my companies. I tease him by calling him a people wizard--he has a special talent in helping executives think and feel about their lives. But Dave never gives them the answers; rather, he works with people to understand their own awareness. This self-awareness helps them to be better not only at their job but in all Seven Slices of their lives."
--Peter Blacklow, Managing Partner, Boston Seed Capital

"Having held global senior leadership positions in both large diversified medical device companies and now a venture backed start-up, I greatly appreciate the vital role of good health and the challenges related to getting there. That is why I found The Work-Life Balance Myth such a breakthrough. Sound health depends on the mind and spirit. This book will enable its readers to join these two vital elements and maintain healthier lives."
--George Fazio, President and CEO, Corvia

"The Seven-Slice Method is well worth the read. Dave's enduring message of rediscovery is one of harmony and balance."
--Rudy Hauser, CEO, CAPInnoVe, Inc.

"Harmony and resilience. As a silk tapestry creates both through a synergy of its parts, McNeff weaves us a bespoke action plan for a harmonious life."
--Ben Mao, Partner, Kohlberg & Company

"The fundamental premise that work-life balance exists is flawed. Balance is achieved by making the Seven Slices of your life a priority. This book can help you transform your life by rethinking and reprioritizing where you place your attention."
--Kathy Bolhous, CEO, Charter NEX Films and Next Generation Films

"Dave McNeff points out the futility of work-life balance and offers a new framework, the Seven-Slice Method for managing the stress in our lives. It encourages the reader to seek holistic harmony in the Seven Slices of one's life, rather than the frustrating pursuit of balance between just two, work and life. A thought-provoking, enjoyable read that offers insights into the real-life application of the method through the experiences of real people. I can't stop thinking about this book!"
--Kerry Flynn, VP and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Vertex Pharmaceutical

"Dave's book is foundational for a busy executive who needs to organize and prioritize his days and weeks. Recognizing and addressing the Seven Slices of life is the first step toward driving success in each of those worlds. Organizing yourself around McNeff's paradigm is a stress reliever and provides an optimal operating platform for growing businesses and their key assets--their people."
--Jim Maynard, Managing Director, Napatree Capital

"One could easily identify and empathize with the people and the situations described in the various case studies. We have all been there in one form or another. I thoroughly enjoyed the book's detailed diagnoses and the eventual resolutions of the individuals described in the case studies utilizing the Seven Slices Method. Clear and concise, Dave McNeff does a wonderful job showing us how to understand, recognize, and incorporate the Seven Slices of life to achieve harmony and balance in one's life. I will recommend this book to my managers to read, in the hope that it will teach them how to assist their colleagues as well as themselves."
--Gary D. Chin, President, Dauphin North America

"Dealing with stress at work often feels like having to eat an elephant. With this framework, I have seen Dave enable professionals to tackle that process, one pragmatic bite at a time. What looked like an unsurmountable challenge turned out to be (relatively) easily fixed through a fascinating process debunking the myth of work-life balance. He has written a great book here, outlining a platform for success that all executives should adopt."
--Wim Souverijns, Chief Commercial Officer, Obseva

"Filled with wisdom and empathetic honesty. I could not stop reading this book. The way personal experiences are woven in makes it authentic. It provides insight and guidance on how to tap into all Slices of life. It enables us to see things differently and helps us live a more fulfilled existence while we are here on earth. Bravo, Mr. McNeff!"
-- Susan A. Parker, Senior Consultant, Waterworks

"There's no easy pill, but David gives you the easy Seven-Slice Method for unlocking the best version of yourself and your brightest future."
--Paul A. Ferreira, Managing Partner, Blue Hawk Investments, LLC

"McNeff has created an innovative process, addressing the compartmentalization of our lives. These inner compartmentalizations have brought about a crisis that is reaching epic proportions, reflected in the distress of body, mind, and spirit. His effective yet simple-to-follow way of helping us toward the integration (integrity) of these divisions and a life of health, fulfillment, and hope."
--Rev. Dr. Ken Orth, Healing Worship Minister, Old South Church in Boston (MA) and
Pastoral Counselor and Spiritual Director, First Congregational Church of Winchester (MA)

"Understanding the fallacy of work-life balance proved to be a huge wake-up call. Learning the importance of touching the Seven Slices of life provided the path to greater fulfillment and emerging as a stronger leader."
--Harpreet Grewal, Chief Operating Officer, Volante Technologies

"The principles laid out in Dave McNeff's book are timeless, relevant, and practical, and lead to the achievement of a harmonious and truly balanced life. There are empty spheres in our lives that we ignore and that weigh us down. Dave McNeff holds a light to these empty spheres and provides a pathway to an awareness that will not only positively impact our lives but the lives of those with whom we work and live."
--Paul Flemming, Managing Principal, ESAI Power

"Trying to reconcile work and life is probably the biggest emotional stressor we have to deal with in the developed world. Beyond the two Slices that receive the most attention from us today--namely family and work--Dave´s book describes how we all have to manage Seven Slices of our lives in a way that achieves harmony. His model and his examples make it easy to understand how difficult it is to perform well in one Slice in a sustainable manner, without paying sufficient attention to the other Slices as well. I found Dave´s approach very relevant and very actionable."
--Alberto Moriana, Vice President of Sales, Procter & Gamble Latin America

"Dave has a unique ability to get busy professionals to step back and consider a holistic approach to their lives. The Seven-Slice Method is outlined in clear terms that describe the importance of balance, even if balance is not equally weighted. Dave's narratives and case studies helped me internalize the approach and will enable readers to apply this to their own lives. This is an important read for any executive curious about professional and personal improvement."
--Brian Powl, senior pharmaceutical marketing executive

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw Hill
• Publication date: 2021
• ISBN 10: 1260468895
• ISBN 13: 9781260468892
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224