Work-Life Balance is a ‘Weird Phrase’

For Coca-Cola government chairman James Quincey, success is much less about meticulous profession planning and extra about survival. 

In a latest interview on the London Enterprise Faculty, Quincey likened company careers to elimination tournaments, the place many succesful folks drop out or burn out. In his view, success comes right down to overcoming challenges, step-by-step, till rivals fall away. 

He described his ascent to the C-suite as “survivor bias,” likening it to repeatedly flipping heads in a coin toss over “20 job rounds” till he was “the one one left.” 

Quincey additionally referred to as work-life steadiness “a bizarre phrase” as a result of work is “a part of life, not separate.”

“It’s a must to select the way you need to make investments your life… and that blend can change over time,” he mentioned. “However it’s at all times your selection.”

These decisions actually add up, he mentioned. The way in which you spend your time now can form the doorways that open up for you years from now. 

Slightly than following a roadmap to the CEO function, Quincey joined Coca-Cola in 1996 and continued shifting towards more difficult positions, together with president of the corporate’s South American and Mexican divisions. He grew to become CEO of the corporate in 2017 and government chairman in 2019. Final month, he stepped down from the CEO function to give attention to being government chairman. 

In the long run, Quincey mentioned success isn’t about being excellent — it’s about endurance. He advises standing out for one thing particular in each function, whether or not that’s remodeling a market, fixing a power drawback or pushing a daring initiative, to make it to the C-suite.  

“Nobody will get there by being the wallpaper,” he mentioned. “You’re going to need to be well-known for one thing in every job.”

Work-life steadiness is a crucial consideration for employees

His perspective arrives as employees rethink their profession priorities. In response to a 2025 report from Randstad, the world’s largest HR providers supplier and staffing company, work-life steadiness is now the best precedence for expertise relating to choosing the place to work. Round 83% of individuals say work-life steadiness issues most to them, marking the primary time within the survey’s 22-year historical past that work-life steadiness ranked above pay. 

Gen Z, particularly, is feeling that shift. With entry-level jobs more durable to come back by, youthful employees are prioritizing more healthy work situations, even when it means incomes much less. One latest survey of interns from KPMG discovered that they’d hand over $5,000 in wage for a greater work-life steadiness. 

Quincey’s morning routine

Quincey’s each day habits present that he prioritizes steadiness. He advised college students at London Enterprise Faculty that he “daydreams” within the morning. 

“I stand up very slowly within the mornings, I drink plenty of espresso, and I’ve breakfast, and I don’t fill my day with conferences,” he mentioned. 

That sort of flexibility may not be doable for everybody, however Quincey’s total recommendation for younger folks is to “do one thing that will get you away from bed within the morning.”

“There’s no more durable job than the one you don’t need to do,” he mentioned.

For Coca-Cola government chairman James Quincey, success is much less about meticulous profession planning and extra about survival. 

In a latest interview on the London Enterprise Faculty, Quincey likened company careers to elimination tournaments, the place many succesful folks drop out or burn out. In his view, success comes right down to overcoming challenges, step-by-step, till rivals fall away. 

He described his ascent to the C-suite as “survivor bias,” likening it to repeatedly flipping heads in a coin toss over “20 job rounds” till he was “the one one left.”