Beginning With the End in Mind

One of the universals in life is that parenting is simultaneously one of the most difficult and most rewarding role in life.  I think it is fascinating how all of us as parents are so different and yet so similar.  For example, we have diverse backgrounds, strengths, and opportunities, at the same time we all want a strong family, confident kids, the ability to pursue our own interests and a way to contribute.  While there are universals to parenting through the centuries, parenting like all other things is evolving... what was good 200 years ago, 100 years ago or even 25 years ago may not be as effective today.  Our world has become more complex.

In business, the aim is often to take good results to great.  Isn't this what we are aiming for as parents?  One strategy in business is to look at the systems that are in place and add, replace, and tweak as necessary.  Another strategy is to leverage the strengths of the workforce.  The place where business and parenting collide makes me vibrate (for some people its good music, climbing a mountain, creating a recipe... there's room for all of us!).   The evolution of parenting can benefit from the world of business.

While my background is in healthcare and education, I have always been interested in business, or more specifically, the leadership aspect of business.  When I can find/make time, I enjoy reading about business leadership.  About a year ago I read a book called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (also referred to as GTD).  After I implemented some of the strategies and read a second book of his, I came to the conclusion that although Mr. Allen truly grasps the concept that work and home life are intermingled, "This guy can't be a parent!"  His program didn't fully account for many things including the highly repetitive and caregiving aspects of parenting.  So, I did what any other curious person does these days and I googled David Allen to find out about his personal life (which I have to admit felt a bit odd... ) and it appears as though he is NOT a parent (please imagine a huge disclaimer here in the chance that this information is wrong and ends up offending him or his offspring!!)

So I went on a mission to blend parenting and GTD... and found someone had already done it!  Yeah!!!  April Perry, co-founder of the Power of Moms, has produced a program called Mind Organization for Moms. "Mind Organization" sounded a bit cultish... I wonder what 'mind organization' would bring up on a google search... I think April was going for the acronym MOM.  So I looked through the Power of Moms website and found out that in addition to taking a workshop on the program, I could take a workshop and become a certified Power of Moms trainer.  I'm not sure if I was more excited about the workshops or a three day weekend without my family (sorry family!).  I'm happy to say, it's not a cult (maybe a movement.. I hope so.... time will tell)... and there's a funny story about it I may tell later..., and I found the workshop experience excellent - energizing, empowering, perspective-shifting, motivating... it was great. 

I have found the MOM program extremely useful in my world - I do get more things done, I have more in-the-moment moments with my kids, I have some time to work on giving workshops (which I didn't have before) and I have found many moments of calm and creativity that I had lost somewhere after my second was born.  

I believe that the MOM program is an excellent way of using strategies from the business world and I believe that a workshop format is an excellent way to leverage the strengths of the workforce (moms in this case).  And I also wish I had found the program even earlier in my parenting adventure.  After deciding to take the plunge, I had to ask myself that important question... "How will I know when I'm successful?"  Well, my answer is, when I've reached 1000 moms.  Who saw that coming???  

Take the journey with me if you like... follow the blog, come to a workshop or simply forward it on to your friends... and many thanks for your time, priceless isn't it?