February 5, 2013

A Family Plan by Craig Schloneger

Several weeks ago we said goodbye to our two oldest children as they headed back for their spring semester of college.  It seems strange for me to be at this stage of life where our children come home for a ‘visit’ before going back to their nine-month residences away from home in Virginia and Florida.

In the past, family just happened with very little planning as we filled the calendar with our kids’ sporting events, church activities, work related schedules and other social events. We were off and running with a wide variety of activities that determined our family schedule. Although our schedules were hectic and pulled us in many different directions, we were doing things together as a family and shared many great experiences.  We knew our children’s schedules, friends, and whereabouts.

As we said goodbye this last time, it struck me that family doesn’t just happen anymore.  We have little idea what our children’s daily schedules entail.  Although we hear of their activities, we don’t have as many shared experiences to connect us.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that our kids are growing up, becoming independent and making good choices.  In fact, I am extremely proud of them and love watching their lives develop.  But I want to make sure that we don’t lose the important connection of family, letting life take us our separate ways.

It is out of this context that I realized that we don’t just let work happen – as leaders we work hard to engage staff members, set goals and put together business plans.  We do this so that everyone is on the same page and we have clarity of purpose as we work together.  This year, I want to do this very same thing with our family.

Last week I sent out an email to each family member asking the following questions:

• What is one thing that you want us to accomplish together as a family in 2013?
• What are several activities (close to home) that you would like our family to do together this summer?
• What can we do as a family to positively impact another person(s)?

I’m not sure what kind of response I’ll receive but I’m really excited about the possibilities. For the first time, we will put together a family plan that will help prevent life’s busyness from interfering with our shared priorities and experiences.

Planning certainly makes sense from a business perspective, why not for the family?  I would enjoy hearing your ideas and experiences of creating a family plan.