Strategic Plan

Let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
~ Romans 12:6, The Message

In light of the last several posts, I felt like this verse just spoke to me. I know that The Message is not a true translation, but the truth in the words resonated with me.

How is your 2010 going so far? Surprisingly ours is moving forward at a nice pace. On our cruise in December Joel and I read a book The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni. In this book he talks about running your family the way you run a business, which may sound cold, but the idea is to have plans and objectives for your family and personal life instead of just cruising through life without direction.

So, we came home from the cruise and made a Strategic Family Plan. It took us a month or so to nail down where we wanted to be headed over the next several months. We wrote a mission statement, came up with a rallying cry and defined objectives that we want to see prioritized in our actions over the next several months. Our plan has been in place for about 3 weeks and it has been freeing to know where we are headed. The point of all of this is to help in decision making for your family to help determine what is "good" but may not be "best"

There are many examples in the book about families choosing to give up things for a time or maybe forever if it doesn't fit in with their mission statement or defining objectives. It's definitely a very managerial way of looking at your family, but so far has proven to be helpful. It is pointing us in the direction we would like to go, kind of a rudder on the ship of life.

Once a week, for us on Monday nights, we sit down and have a short 10 minute "meeting" to go over our strategic plan and discuss if we are moving forward in the areas we want to or if we need to readjust and change some priorities.

I feel like the verse above in Romans relates to this idea of strategic planning because it helps us to just be ourselves, who we are, who God created us (as a family) to be and not to worry about what the ______'s are doing as a family. Not only had God created us each individually to be different, but he created our families to be and to be run differently. There is often a charge to find out what God had called us individually to be or do with our lives, but I've not heard too many encouragements to find the calling for our families. I also feel like gaining a sense of direction as a family unit has helped me to personally define some of my priorities and objectives.

We were able to check the book out at our local library. I wouldn't say this is a "you have to own this book" but it is a quick and easy read and has really brought some clarity to our lives. There have been mixed reviews from others who have read it, some positive, some less enthusiastic about Lencioni's writing style, but it is an easy read and everyone I've talked to has walked away with the feeling that making a plan for their families is indeed a good idea.

So go on being who you are and don't worry about comparing yourself to others. You are unique and that makes you special.