By John Arenas | October 3, 2013

The Corporate Advantage of the Entrepreneurial Mindset

What is “Work time,” anyway?

We know that the hours from 9-to-5 aren’t congruent with optimal creativity, output, and work performance for the majority of people.

In an interview with Entrepreneur less than a year ago, Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner described an entrepreneur as someone who is “willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” It may seem contrary to the work-life balance, but there is something undeniably different driving people who feel that they can work freely and on their own terms.

As people continue to break away from the corporate structure in favor of venturing out on their own, it is more important for companies to think about how they can contribute to their employees’ health and happiness.

That starts with making people feel like the workplace is there to help them fulfill their task list rather than hinder it from completion. The more organically the workplace fits into the routine of people—the individuals who keep it running—and makes it easier rather than challenging to meet daily responsibilities, the more present a person can be at the office and the greater energy they can put toward their job responsibilities as well.

We’d argue that when a person’s goals are met—whether that means a daily meditation, beating their record time during an afternoon run, or completing their food shopping on their lunch hour—marketing proposals might reflect more creative ideas, reporting might be more rooted in its readers’ environment, and so forth. Companies might suddenly find that same entrepreneurial level of dedication driving their goals too.