There's a persistent myth in corporate culture that being a top performer means being the first to arrive and the last to leave. But according to Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, that's not how success actually works.
Quality Over Quantity
Speaking on the "Aspire with Emma Grede" podcast, Finkelstein challenged the glorification of 80-hour workweeks.
"You don't have to work 80 hours a week to perform well, to be a high performer," he explained. "I know people who work 40 hours a week who are some of the greatest performers ever. They're just incredibly efficient with their time."
The key difference? These star employees are strict about their boundaries and exceptionally good at managing their time. They've figured out how to maximize their output during reasonable working hours rather than simply putting in more hours.
Work-Life Changes With Life Circumstances
Finkelstein was candid about how his own approach to work has evolved throughout different life stages.
"There's a period in [my] life before I was married, before I had kids, where I was able to work 80 hours a week all the time, and when I had newborns, I wasn't able to work 80 hours," he shared.
This acknowledgment is refreshing. The demands on our time and energy shift as our lives change, and rigid expectations about work hours don't account for that reality.
Rethinking "Balance"
Interestingly, Finkelstein takes issue with the very term "work-life balance."
"I think this idea of work-life balance is a little bit of a misnomer where I think actually what we're all searching for is some sort of harmony," he said. "I think everyone needs to kind of find their own version of it."
For him, harmony looks like flexibility in both directions: "There are some Saturdays where I have to work, and there are some Thursday afternoons that I go for a walk with my wife."
A Growing Movement Away From "Balance"
Finkelstein isn't alone in reframing this conversation. Several prominent tech leaders have moved away from the balance metaphor:
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also champions work-life harmony over balance. "What I'm trying to do is harmonize what I deeply care about, my deep interests, with my work," he said in 2019.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been even more direct, calling work-life balance a "debilitating" phrase. At Italian Tech Week in October, he explained: "I don't love the word 'balance' because it implies a tradeoff. I like work-life harmony because if you're happy at home, you'll be better at work. If you're better at work, you'll be better at home."
The shift from "balance" to "harmony" might seem like semantics, but it represents a meaningful change in perspective. Balance suggests a zero-sum game where work and life compete for your time. Harmony suggests they can complement and enhance each other.
The real message? High performance comes from working smart, setting boundaries, and finding a rhythm that works for your current life circumstances—not from simply logging the most hours.