Speaking of lunch up until late 1993 Koch Industries limited employees lunch to 30 minutes (however extended it to 45 minutes). The interesting thing though is some groups within Koch were competitive saying they could get lunch within 20 minutes. At a large company it would seem as if it would take a while just to order your lunch, then sit down and eat it would take at least 20 minutes.
Not only does Charles Koch work hard he also plays hard too and would do things for fun that most people would consider work. Dan Schulman in his book "Sons of Wichita" mentioned that "To say Charles was a workaholic underplayed the depth of his addiction". Charles would read at least 2 hours a day after putting in so many hours at the office. The learning would not stop with just reading after work though. He would want to use every minute to his advantage. Given his car commute was only 10-15 minutes long he would listen to books on tape and estimates he listen to over a dozen books per year. . Charles remarks "there is so much to learn, so much you need to know that there is not enough time". He enjoys reading so much you can see the books in his bathroom here , the books in his Koch Industries office here, and his home office here. On Sunday afternoons for fun he would have his briefcase in his lap with work papers spread out in the living room while watching NFL games.
Also in recent years he has a disciplined diet as well and does 90 minute workouts (1/3 Pilates, 1/3 aerobics, and 1/3 weight lifting). From a 1974 Forbes article Charles mentions he would run 2-3 miles several times a week and his objective "is to get the most exercise in the shortest time possible". Upon reflection in 2012 Charles commented he would run 30 miles a week which he claims was stupid since he was pushing himself too hard and his knees gave out. When he was coaching his daughter Elizabeth on running Charles would overdo it by waking up at 5 A.M. on family vacations and practice even in blizzard on Christmas Eve. When Charles was at MIT he played flag football with such intensity and "It was like he was playing the Super Bowl" according to someone who referred the game. Former executive president of Koch Industries Richard Fink mentioned he never had seen someone who is so intense in living every minute that "the one thing you don't want to do is waste Charles's time". He points out in this interview with Ryan Holiday that he tells his employees "bring me into a meeting if you think I can help. If I can't help don't bring me to the meeting". During a three week tour of the Orient in 1983 Charles had planned for every minute of the trip and while others were relaxing at the hotel pool Charles went on an sightseeing excursion and then talked about the excursion throughout dinner. In 1992, he took the family to the Summer Olympics in Spain and Charles wanted to see 4-5 events a day which drove his children crazy. His children swore this would be the last family they would take together.
Charles over the years has been known for perfectionist tendencies which can be evidence of workaholic tendencies. In 2006 he was rewriting Market Based Management for the 20th time and within the twenty one hour flight from Wichita to China and was so excited with new ideas that he didn't sleep on the whole trip and continued to work. He arrived to China at 1:30 A.M. local time and only slept a few hours as he had to give a four and half hour presentation. Charles was dizzy from not getting enough sleep, fumbling through the slides, and it ended up not being a great presentation. His wife Liz mentions he is a perfectionist about everything. Liz misused a word on market-based management (which Charles created) and she said "he practically went hysterical on me".
My own views is that Charles Koch has been a work acholic since he started working for Koch Industries in the early 1960's. There is a difference between working hard and wanting to do a good job and working so hard that leaves very little time for relationship, recreation, and rest. During the 1980's it was probably more acceptable to ask people to come in on Saturday or a weekend for that matter to work but if a boss called an employee to come in on a Sunday to the office these days that would be frowned upon given how more people care more about a work life balance. Spending every waking moment consuming information and knowledge is taxing and it is perfectly healthy to just relax and veg out. The brain is a muscle and the analogy would be someone working out their brain 15 hours a day which isn't healthy.
Charles would say that he enjoys what he does and wants to create value for society which is a good thing, however family members and friends can be hurt in this process. He likes to say "I'm going to ride my bicycle until I fall off"...I mean I don't want to play golf every day, and I can't read all the time". In this WSJ article from 2013 when Charles is asked why he likes working he replies "I like to stay alive, that's one thing". He has said "neither accumulating material goods nor amassing a big pile of money has ever been an incentive for me to work". He is someone who gets excited over ideas and concepts rather than money. A former Koch Industries management consultant mentioned "he's most excited when they've solved some problem". Charles likes the integration of different things for example when Koch bought a shipping terminal and started producing product and which allowed Koch Industries to have an international distribution network that they didn't have before are puzzles he likes to solve. Although Charles's family and friends may have suffered from his workaholic tendencies society is actually much better off because of him being a workaholic.
