Panera Bread founder Ron Shaich asks CEOs and founders to consider what they may wish they had addressed today when looking back three years from now, including their health. He began asking himself after watching his parents near the end of their lives.
At board meetings and in conversations with leaders, Shaich asks: “What is it that in three years you're going to wish we had dealt with today?” He says his approach is to start with the future he wants, identify what must happen to get there and review progress each quarter.
The article argues that business growth can add decisions and stress, while travel, late meetings and short sleep can become routine and crowd out self-care and recovery. It says leaders should assess the health their future role will require and attend to concerns they repeatedly defer.
