Be A CEO (Chief Executive Officer) at Home

No matter what you do for work, take tips on how to run your home from the top executives!!

Part of the reason so many families are so stressed is that the family does not have a clear mission statement – what is it that you want for your family? What are your family values and goals?

1.     Schedule regular family meetings to discuss family values to set boundaries and goals, discuss what is working and what isn’t working so well, find solutions so things will work more smoothly, delegate jobs and responsibilities, and plan your week, month, year.

2.     Discuss and determine individuals responsibilities – everyone above the age of 3 should participate in following family rules and helping with chores suited to each person’s age.

3.     Use a Calendar of events – if you want something to happen in this busy world, it needs to be booked into your calendar of events. If Mom doesn’t actually schedule time for herself, she needs to! Mom and Dad need time to spend together too!

4.     Training – if you want someone to be responsible for a job, it is important that the person is properly trained to do the job. This includes having them know exactly what is expected of them, when and how often the job is expected to be done, and making sure they have any materials and tools necessary to complete the job.

5.     Consequences – each person should know what the consequences will be if they do not do their job properly or when expected.

6.     Respect – this goes both ways. You should not only respect others and speak in a courteous way, but insist that you too are treated with respect.

7.     Rewards for a job well done – CEOs know that it is important to compliment and reward employees for jobs well done

8.     Multi task – good leaders are good at multi tasking. For instance, make calls using a speaker phone or headset while folding laundry, making dinner or ironing.

9.      Eliminate or delegate – if you don’t have enough time for everything on your list, decide what is most important and what can be let go or delegated. Perhaps you hire a cleaning service to come in once or twice a month and lower your standards slightly during the other weeks. Perhaps you buy what you need to donate to the bake sale at the supermarket. You can delegate lots of little jobs that cumulatively take up a lot of time each week, such as folding laundry and putting it away, emptying the dishwasher, feeding the animals, emptying the trash, running the vacuum etc, etc.

10.  Hire the experts – decide which time consuming tasks you can hire someone to do for you (at least part of the time) This might include lawn service, window washing, weeding, shirts pressed at the dry cleaners, and buying ready made meals at the supermarket. If your budget is tight, consider running an ad in your local newspaper and hire a student or stay at home mom who is looking for some extra cash.

11.  Say NO and mean it! CEO’s are decisive and firm. When you don’t have time or want to do something, just say NO.

12.  Work with a budget – Just like a corporation, families need to have a budget and work within it. Explaining this process to your children is teaching them a valuable life skill. Many families go into debt that requires them to work many extra jobs to pay off, just because they will not set limits or say no to extravagant request that their children make.