{"id":1974,"date":"2025-12-09T10:56:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T10:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=1974"},"modified":"2025-12-09T10:56:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T10:56:53","slug":"shopify-president-says-some-of-the-greatest-workers-he-knows-only-clock-in-40-hour-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=1974","title":{"rendered":"Shopify president says some of the greatest workers he knows only clock in 40-hour weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no question that the explosion of ChatGPT and other AI-powered technology has ushered in a new era of productivity, with some leaders even predicting that a four-day work week is closer than ever before. At the same time, the pressure is only intensifying on workers to maximize every advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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And some business leaders have set extreme examples. Take Nvidia\u2019s CEO, Jensen Huang. Just last week, he admitted that both he and his two children, who also work for the semiconductor manufacturer, work every day of the week\u2014including holidays.<\/p>\n

But not everyone believes the future belongs to the workaholics. In fact, some of the best workers Shopify President Harley Finkelstein knows stick to traditional work schedules.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to work 80 hours a week to perform well, to be a high performer,\u201d he said on the Aspire<\/em>with Emma Grede<\/em> podcast. \u201cI know people that work 40 hours a week that are some of the greatest performers ever. They\u2019re just incredibly efficient with their time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most people will still face the occasional late night or weekend email, Finkelstein said real balance comes from tailoring your work rhythm to your life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this idea of work-life balance is a little bit of a misnomer. I think actually what we\u2019re all searching for is like some sort of harmony,\u201d he added. \u201cThere are some Saturdays where I have to work, and there are some Thursday afternoons that I go for a walk with my wife. That\u2019s my version of harmony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be a \u2018Swiss army knife\u2019\u2014and work hard when the moment calls<\/h2>\n

For Finkelstein, hard work has long been part of his DNA. As a teenager with dreams of becoming a DJ, he couldn\u2019t land gigs without experience, so he created his own opportunities. <\/p>\n

Later, as a student at the University of Ottawa, he launched a side-gig selling T-shirts to cover rent and support his family. That venture brought him into contact with Tobias L\u00fctke, who was then selling snowboards online using software he had built\u2014software that would eventually become Shopify.<\/p>\n

With a law degree, Finkelstein didn\u2019t fit the stereotypical startup mold. But when L\u00fctke invited him to join the fledgling company, he embraced what he later called a \u201cSwiss army knife\u201d role.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that needed to get done on the legal or business side? I would do it. I made my skills from law school extremely transferable,\u201d he wrote on LinkedIn in 2022.<\/p>\n

Even for Finkelstein, 80-hour workweeks weren\u2019t uncommon in those early years. But once his family started to grow, he made adjustments to establish balance in what feels like \u201cone big, meaningful pursuit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone asked me how I know I\u2019ve found mine. My answer? Because Monday mornings feel like Saturday mornings,\u201d Finkelstein wrote. \u201cWhatever your mission is, I hope you find the thing that makes Monday feel like Saturday. Because that\u2019s when you know you\u2019re building something that really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortune<\/em> reached out to Finkelstein for further comment.<\/p>\n

Work-life balance isn\u2019t constant<\/h2>\n

Finkelstein\u2019s view of work-life balance isn\u2019t far from what many other high-performing leaders have argued: harmony isn\u2019t fixed\u2014it shifts with circumstance.<\/p>\n

Cisco\u2019s chief product officer Jeetu Patel, for instance, works 18-hour days, seven days a week. But even he insists that balance is possible as long as it is designed intentionally. For Patel, that means making sure his daughter can reach him anytime and never compromising his physical health.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to figure out a way to make sure that it works for you, and you have to make sure that the people around you think that that\u2019s okay,\u201d Patel previously told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cYou have to create that system for yourself. I don\u2019t think anyone else can create it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even former President Barack Obama echoed a similar idea earlier this year on The Pivot Podcast<\/em>, noting that balance often comes in phases and that temporary imbalance can be a necessary part of achieving goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be excellent at anything\u2014sports, music, business, politics\u2014there\u2019s going to be times of your life when you\u2019re out of balance, where you\u2019re just working and you\u2019re single-minded.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Shopify #president #greatest #workers #clock #40hour #weeks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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