Resource allocation is a crucial concept that holds significance in both personal and business life. The way we allocate our scarce resources (energy, time, attention, and money are examples) has a massive impact on our success and happiness.  

I lost my father to pancreatic cancer a few years ago. His absence not only left a permanent hole- which is also life, painful as it is- it also forced me to continuously face the question of how to maximize my remaining time (and we will all go through that door at some point). This question became a permanent presence in my life, which has led me to decisions that the younger version of myself would have had a harder time understanding. 

Allow me to elaborate.

According to Herzberg's Two-Factor theory, happiness in your job is determined by a combination of things that produce satisfaction (motivators) and those whose absence leads to dissatisfaction (hygiene factors). Examples of hygiene factors include job security, company policies, pay, and working conditions. Instances of motivators are achievement, growth opportunities, recognition, and the work itself. Herzberg believed that the presence of motivators is more powerful than the non-absence of hygienic factors. 

Consider how this could look in the context of finding a new assignment or a different job elsewhere. You need to clarify for yourself what really drives and motivates you (intrinsic? Extrinsic? Hygiene factors or motivators, and what type of mix?). Knowing this will help you focus your assessments on the presence and strength of these motivators and factors. You can prioritize options based on how likely they are to create job satisfaction and fulfillment and lead to greater overall life satisfaction and happiness. For instance, you could investigate their culture in terms of how and if they offer chances for personal and professional growth and opportunities to make a meaningful contribution to the organization or society. You could also probe for culture- what does recognition from colleagues, superiors, or the wider community look like?  

Make sure you determine the right balance of hygienic factors and motivators for you as you weigh career and life decisions. Recognition from others is a potent motivator, but external validation should not be the only yardstick. Intrinsic motivators such as personal growth, purpose, and fulfillment often lead to much greater satisfaction and happiness in the long run. They stem from within like the desire to learn, a sense of purpose, or a passion for a specific field. Pursuing them can be challenging, as it involves taking risks and getting uncomfortable. But they can also lead to a greater sense of fulfillment and meaning.   

This is important in solving for the “job” side of the scale in the broader balance of happiness in your life. Now let’s think about the other side of the scale. 

Prioritization is the key to effectively allocating resources in both personal life and business. Companies must prioritize which projects or initiatives to invest in, based on their potential for growth and profitability. In our personal lives, we must prioritize our goals and values to allocate our resources in a way that supports them.  

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "resources" refers to a supply of something someone has and can use when it is needed. This can include materials, assets, or funds that are available for a particular purpose or need. Resources can also refer to people, skills, or other qualities that can be used to accomplish a task or achieve a goal. Additionally, resources can refer to a source of information or support that can be accessed for assistance or guidance. 

The term “resources” evokes that definition (money, people, information, oil, minerals, wood…). We think of what we could do with them… what can be created from them. With gasoline, you think of oil; in the context of launching a product you think of a team, budget, and so on.  

But the term is broader. It refers to anything you spend to obtain something else. In this sense, your time, your energy, your happiness itself are also resources. So, think of how you want to deploy them over time. Define what you want to do with them. But think broadly, not over the next year only- think about your whole lifetime. Time and energy, in this context, are finite. 

The link to the Two Factor theory is hopefully clearer by now. What are the hygienic factors in your life? What would make it less enjoyable if you didn’t have it? Obviously, pay and money for basic things like nourishment, education, health, etc. But what else? Would not having a partner detract from your fulfillment? How about where you live, what you can do with your time, etc.? And what are motivators- i.e., if you have more of them, you would be happier and more satisfied and fulfilled? Time with your family? Travel? What? 

How you deploy your resources will create a certain mix of hygienic factors and motivators. What is the optimal balance for your life? What do you want to produce with them? It could be making money. Full stop. I would imagine for most people there are more things- at the end of the day, being the richest person in the graveyard might not be too rewarding. So, the same way you think of prioritization when you allocate your budget to different activities (say, launching a product, or making choices about how to use your timber to build this or that deck design), actively plan how you will allocate your time and energy for the remainder of your life.  

Also consider risk management as you ponder the optimal resource allocation for you. Companies must manage risk by diversifying their investments, setting clear policies and expectations, and being prepared with proper plans for unexpected challenges. In our personal lives, we must also manage risk by being prepared for unforeseen events such as illness or job loss and making strategic choices that allow us to maintain a certain level of financial stability and security- or to make pivots that will allow us to get a modicum of satisfaction and happiness. 

The challenge of maximizing happiness is, in essence, one of resource allocation. In a business setting, the target for optimization is maximal growth, profitability, and cash flow. In the broader context of personal life, we must allocate resources such as our time, energy, and focus to maximize happiness and life fulfillment, balancing hygienic and motivating factors.  This will help identify what boundaries to set where and how to establish priorities to find that optimal allocation to create the legacy you will leave behind you? What would you want your proverbial tombstone to say?  

Somber tones aside, this is an important question that you must ask yourself. It is not about negating the consideration of allocating resources in the professional environment. The argument is more in favor or enshrouding that in the broader search for meaning that should guide you. This is how you ensure that you are happy doing what you do and it is a tool to see whether what you are doing meets the bar of helping you achieve optimal overall well-being and happiness, for you and for those around you. 

When you think of your team and everyone in it, this is a question you must also keep front and center. They are also trying to maximize their life and fulfillment. So how can you help them? How does the work you assign to them help them maximize returns for your organization but also for themselves? This alignment with their values and ulterior life objectives is what produces the engagement we want to produce in our teams. Most of us spend more time working than with our loved ones. So we should always aim to make the most of that resource by helping make it a win-win such that returns for the organization are maximized at the same time they produce an advancement in our team member’s quest for happiness and fulfillment.