Lessons from Child Rearing

Even though I don’t have children, I find the topic of child-rearing interesting. Getting Things Done—a personal productivity site—recently had an interesting post involving children. The author was going to spend the day with his children, and involved them in planning the day.

They began by listing some of the activities they wanted to do. They then identified how long each activity would take—there is no sense in trying to cram 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound sack. I won’t relate the entire story, but it turned out to be a fun day for everyone.

The lesson in the story is directly applicable to small business owners. Often, we simply dictate to our employees how things will be. After all, we are the boss and if they don’t like it… But this often gets us results different from what we want and expect. We don’t get “buy in”.

Like the parent who involved his children in planning the day, we should involve our employees in the decision making process. This doesn’t mean that we give in to whatever ideas they come up with, but it does mean that we give their ideas serious consideration. Not only are they more likely to approve of the results, and therefore implement them, there is a good chance that they will have some better ideas.

I certainly don’t mean to equate children and employees, but in a certain sense there is a similarity. In both relationships, we have the final authority. In both relationships, we are looked upon as the expert and the guiding force. We are the leader. While this requires a firm hand, it does not mean that we should be dictators.

I am familiar with parents who tell their children to do something “because I said so”. This hardly helps the child understand the rationale behind the directive. However, when the parent explains his reasons (in a manner the child can understand), the results can be much more satisfactory to all involved. The same applies to our employees.