The Business of Family

Why in the world would you want to run your family like a business organization?  I would bet you have never thought of your family as an organization like Google, Apple, or even the local grocery store down the street.  There are so many great organizations out there that are the standard in the industry they are in and show others what success looks like.  We all have the business that we will drive the extra mile or two because of what they do or what they stand for.  

So maybe the better question would be is now the time for you to make a change in the way you look at your family and start to take the steps to run it like an organization?  If you are looking for a change in your family or maybe not even a change, but you want the same thing every business does.  Success in selling their product or the service they provide.  With our families we all want success but our success does not revolve around a product but more so a purpose.  That purpose is unique to each family unit but we all should be working toward a goal just like any great business does.  As we look at our families in the different light of trying to make a great organization there are three things every great organization has that we can take to our families.

1. They have a purpose – The single most important thing we can learn from any successful organization is they have a purpose greater than themselves.  This seems like a no-brainer for your family but I would guess that you have never sat down with the members of your family and clearly laid out your family purpose.
2. They are intentional – Even the greatest purpose can be lost along the way without the organization taking the steps to be intentional about achieving that purpose.  Most organizations start out with a plan where they lay out what they are doing and how they are going to do it.  Thinking of your family in terms of an organization gives us that intention of purpose.
3. They have great leaders – You show me a successful organization and I will show you a great leader who drove that success along the way.  As mothers, fathers, husbands, or wives we are leaders of our organization and it is up to us to lead our organizations.  The great news is I promise you that you are up to the task.  When we start to get intentional about our leadership in our homes not only will our family find success but we will grow as individuals.

Now is the time to step back and take a look at our families in a different light.  There has never been a time in human history where the family is being attacked more than it is right now.  Turn on the news or scroll through your smartphone just to see all the adversity we are facing.  

What the world needs is the greatest generation of families the world has ever known.  What the greatest generation of families need are leaders who are willing to take a look at the challenges facing their families and willing to take the steps to drive their family to who they can become.  Great leaders, like great parents, see those they care for not as they are but who they can become.

We need more leaders in our homes who are willing to take the time and give their family purpose and make intentional actions every day to help everyone work toward that goal.  Changing the world does not require travels to other destinations.  Changing the world starts with the actions we take in the home and as that purpose becomes who we are we take that intention into our communities, our schools, and our nation and we invite others to follow our lead and become intentional in their own families.

I hope to help you think of your calling as a parent leader and your family organization a bit different than before.  Join me on this journey to create the greatest generation of family organizations the world has ever known.

Photo from Dannysullivan via Flicker