The announcement of the seperation and impending divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates this week after 30 years of marriage came as a shock to many people and without speculating on the cause made me ponder, not for the first time, on the impact of business success on family life.

Having been married for 44 years with a wonderful wife and two great kids I know just how lucky I have been to have the love and support of those around me.

I also know it because I have seen the impact that a lack of that balance has had on others both in terms of professional colleagues and my clients. And that is why I am adament when advising on strategy that the issue of life away from business cannot nor should not be ignored.

The number of people who are driven to excel in business are innumerable and more often than not when I ask them what drives them on they will answer that they are doing it for their family and loved ones. Yet those same family and loved ones I suspect would sacrifice many of the rewards that such drive gives them to spend just a little more time with said parent or spouse.

My parents worked 6 days a week,50 weeks a year, without pause to provide for me and my sister and yet they always found time for us both and instilled in us that family always came first. These days there are far more things to distract and entertain children than were around when I was young yet I valued most the time spent on a Sunday on family trips, the Annual visit to Anfield with my Dad over the Easter holiday to watch our beloved team and even dare I say it being dragged kicking and screaming to the shopping trips with my Mum. So I almost never missed a school play or sports event that my kids participated in and tried to ensure that my wife and I did stuff together.

So what has this got to do with business? Well it meant for one thing my home life was never a distraction from my work but on the contrary meant that I succeeded because I could seperate the two and yet concentrate on both with no distractions. I made it a rule not to bring work home in operational terms yet felt able to talk about my issues and had a good listener who often helped me focus on how to solve a problem.

As a result of that I will always ask a client how their business plans fit in with their home life and what they are going to do to ensure that one is not damaged by the other. When you are starting a new business, embarking on an expansion programme or, as in the last year managing the traumas of the downturn in business, how much easier will it be if you include rather than exclude your family. When I look back over the years at my most successful clients, it is remarkable how many of them succeeded in achieving that balance. Yes you can achieve mightily in business without such balance but at what cost?

So when planning your strategy make sure you think about life outside of business and plan accordingly.