Q & A
management began to get together in the office , I said : “ Go away ! I want to work without you !” And , they stopped coming .
As Eldar said , we certainly set an example . But I understand that if someone wants to create a balance for himself , he will do it . No matter what the schedule , he will choose the priority for himself . The way we see ourselves , how we think and behave is not rooted in our personal lives , and doesn ’ t necessarily need to be integrated in the company . My first boss taught me that if he sees me at work after 18:00 , it means that nothing has been done during the whole day . He always scolded me . If I was late with something , I tried to finish it . He sent me home to have rest and come in the morning . And I hold this as my opinion too . I do not like it when people stay after work to finish something . It means that they have nothing to do , they cannot manage their time during the day , so they sit till midnight . I do not like it and do my best to finish everything on time . Work is work , and the rest of your time is yours .
Marat : I ’ m , unlike my friends , a late father . Children began to appear for me when I was 40 . So the great question , ' how long to work ?' did not arise . I was single when I was working till 22:00 or 23:00 .
I believe that family is the most important thing in a person ’ s life . I really learnt a lot from my wife , as she comes from a very good family institution . And my parents were wonderful too . I saw my father rarely because he was in the military , so he was often away on missions . But the most important thing that my parents had to give me they did . So , in our director ’ s meetings , in regional meetings when the whole team comes together , I say that family is the most important thing . As you successfully plan you work , your business hours , you have to plan your family leisure and family life for weeks , months and even a year . It ’ s not a secret that the majority ( 90 %) of people do not plan what they will do with family on Wednesday , Thursday evening , Saturday or Sunday . They simply wait and see . Most people live like this . We have most weekends planned , and we know what to do over this weekend , next weekend , etc . I ’ m not trying to say that the whole year is scheduled . The year is scheduled regarding travels , based on the timing of the children ’ s holidays . Our business develops between trips : first we plan trips , then business between them . So it works .
When colleagues ask : “ Why do you preach that family is first , and work second ?” I answer by telling them that I ’ ve already been divorced once , and now I know how family problems affect job performance . You lose your motivation to do anything , you lose heart . If people have troubles at home , in their family because of work , then what will their job performance be like ? All the stress , and depression will be reflected in work . I know it . Although I resist stress , I have been losing my heart . One bad conversation and then no wish to work .
Most important is that at home everything should be all right . Maybe , this is too harsh of a comparison , but when you die not one colleague will sit next to you , most likely your family will be with you . First of all , we have to spend our time for them . We can have one job or another . Therefore , this is most important .
Julie : Thank you very much for your openness .
Siddique : I can tell you about YPO . Most of us take vacation very seriously .
Sometimes we try to withdraw from vacation , but then convince each other that it is necessary . This is one of the good things . I can see that not only in Kazakhstan , but also worldwide YPO as an Organisation with 20,000 CEOs in more than 40 countries , wherever we land we can always find a party or have fun . The work-life balance , the way I see it , is not a question , if you do simple mathematics out of 365 days in 2017 , we have 254 calendar days , as you should take weekends , with long weekends out of 24 calendar days of the vacation . It all comes down to how you manage your free time . I think , as a CEO , if you manage companies and people and you cannot manage your free time , you are not a CEO . If you manage your business , but you cannot manage your family , you are not a CEO .
So , time management , whether it is business or family is extremely important . A person , who is really satisfied with his / her personal life will grow into a much more productive worker .
In our company we have developed an app from an idea I had about four years ago . People thought that I was a control freak , but now everyone loves it . This app is a planner , giving anyone from our company , in any country , any city the opportunity to go log in and see all the red , green and the blue days . The green days mean that they should not plan anything , because we are having really important work . For example Nauryz holidays , almost 50 % of our workforce in Central Asia will take at least two days off to create a bridge , adding in two to three days of holiday plus weekends , they can then create ten days off .
Marat : When you are on vacation , you are still working ( talking to
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