World Monitor Magazine, # 1, 2017 | Page 23

Q & A work and there needs to be family . It is necessary to establish balance , get priorities right . Unfortunately , I went through all the universities alone , with my feet dragging along dusty paths , and all hard knocks I took , I took by myself . From my personal experience , I ’ d like to say that balance is very important . We have to be very attentive to our families , to relationships within families , between children and spouses . Without harmony in the family , in business , one way or another , there will be troubles . No corporate culture helps here . And on the contrary : if you have a good family , it will help and strengthen the corporate culture in your company .
What is your priority , business or life ?
Armanzhan : My priority now is my family . But I came to this slowly , unfortunately . Normally when we plan something , and the schedule is subject to our children ’ s school and university schedules . First , we ask them about their plans , and then we can build ours . I believe that for me personally ( I ’ m not saying that this is a rule for all , but just for me ) this brings peace of mind ; my world order is set to order for the moment .
Julie : Perhaps , it is also a luxury – to have the opportunity to put the family and private life in priority .
Armanzhan : But , a luxury you have to work for , of course .
Anatoliy : I listened to Arman . Perhaps he is a cunning man , I know him . His family was always a priority . As his wife even said so . This is happiness . I ’ m not a great expert in family relationships . But with aging you understand that there are some core things . The greatest happiness is this , anyway . A man has to have everything in balance . In my opinion , it is not possible to say what is more important . Actually , it ’ s just wrong to even raise the question because these are all related things , like health and daily life . All these things need to be in balance . But these guys are better experts in family life than me , so I give them the floor .
How far this philosophy is reflected in the status and organisation of your work with your colleagues . In business , you also believe that your colleagues should have balance between their life and job ?
Anatoliy : If I am to speak honestly , I have never even thought about it . When we hold great events , I wish for all involved , first of all , that everything must be all right at home , and then secondly at work . People can come to the office for three to four hours and work actively , or just sit up at their desks unto 8 to 9pm – without any effectiveness . If someone is ineffective , sooner or later , we will not be able to continue working together . So , I think that we do not attach much importance to it .
Eldar : Balancing work and life is not easy . Certainly , if you ’ d like to be successful , you have to be passionate , you have to work hard . Clearly , when you mention a balance in terms of time , education , it is difficult to measure . I absolutely try to develop family values . But does it mean I have to go and dedicate myself to the family after six or eight o ’ clock ? It depends . This is situational leadership .
In early December , for instance , is annual planning for the next year . So , my wife totally understands this . Early January is for my family . This is an admission process for my elder kids . I have to spend my time there .
There are different values and priorities . You may have different priorities as a CEO and play off of them . It also depends on if you are a good partner for your wife and you have a proper understanding of marriage . They may need you to cover them up , help them or there is something you may do together . This is very important , very critical . How do you actually pass these values on or how does this affect your work ? I would say this is leadership by example , being a role model for people you work with . These are values you try to share and bring to your company . Whatever you say people might follow you . How do we bring values into work in our company ? We have neat management courses and training . We usually say that this is the program to be a good parent . You may use it at work , but certainly it will help to be a good parent in your family . The second level is usually the understanding of your partner and then trying to combine the two . Usually the experience with being a good parent and good partner speeds up the process in the company .
Makhmud : I have no balance at the moment . But I understand that balance is important . I made many different attempts to fix it . Dedicated Saturday to children , Sunday to my wife , then vice versa , finally realizing that matters accumulated during the week , so I ended up working on Saturday . I removed the office from home , said that I will not sit there . There were many attempts to do something , but for now I have not found the right balance in my life . The last recipe we used works very well . My family does not live with me – they are students . And we see each other on holidays , vacations , and spend a lot of quality time together . Currently , that ’ s how we do it . I understand that now I need to finish some things , and business has to become a priority . I do think that it should be so for my employees too . I used to come to the office on Saturday , always worked on Saturdays , and when my top
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