Len Schlesinger is the President of Babson College. Prior to that, he was Vice Chairman and COO of Limited Brands, and Executive Vice President and COO at Au Bon Pain. He was also a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School for 20 years. He is the author or co-author of ten business books.

Len Schlesinger on the greatest misconception about entrepreneurship; what entrepreneurs often don’t take into account; the one rule he and his wife have; the notion of “acceptable loss”, and why work-life balance is not realistically achievable.

Q: Why do you think that the effects of an entrepreneurial business on families is not a topic addressed in business schools?

A: It’s a topic that gets discussed in panels and forums, at meals and coffee breaks, and at EO and YPO meetings–but it never comes up inside the classroom. From an academic standpoint, there’s been no systematic data collection related to this topic, so faculty don’t have much to offer about it. By putting this topic out there in your articles and your book, you are legitimizing more public conversation around it.

Q: What do you think is the greatest misconception about entrepreneurship and families?

A: What is most naïve about our discussions of entrepreneurship is that it is defined as a solo activity. In reality, it isn’t. There are key relationships–partners, family, and friends. The notion that it is just Lire la suite →