Family Inc.

I recently listened to the HBR Ideacast titled: Can You Manage Your Family. Author Bruce Feiler was promoting his new book: The Secrets of Happy Families. The focus of the interview was on using current business theories and practices at home. It is interesting, and worth a listen or read (available here).

The interview seemed less about actually using business theories and practices at home, but more about using business jargon to help us think about our active participation in families. I'm in favor of that! I think jargon gets a bad wrap; it can be a very good thing when it helps clarify our thinking and communicate in our contexts. When we bring our jargon home, it often results in powerful metaphors. Whatever our field (musician, nurse, mechanic... ) it is a potent communication tool when we go to the trouble to say "It is like..."

When we bring our jargon home and work out the metaphors, it helps us connect the various parts of our own life... and it helps others get connect to the various parts of our life. It forces us to think creatively and be proactive. And that is a great thing, especially at home where we might too easily fall into the rut of passivity, taking the easy road without a boss to please or metrics to meet.