Raise Your Child Like A Business

How do you measure the success of your child’s education by the end of his school term? Is it his academic results, his extra-curricular achievements, the scholarships he secured for tertiary education, or is it his certainty of his capabilities like that of a business? I came across this book How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen, one of the world’s most influential business thinker, and he applied his theory in Business Capabilities to raising children. According to Christensen, capabilities of a business can fall into any of these 3 categories: Resources, Processes and Priorities. And by identifying these factors that affect your business capabilities, you should be able to realistically measure what you child can, and more importantly, cannot accomplish.

Resources are the most tangible of the 3 business capabilities. It is usually measurable, can be hired or fired, bought or sold, depreciated or built. They are usually people or things. Examples of resources in a business include people, equipment, technology, product designs, brands, information, cash, and relationships with suppliers, distributors and customers. Take this concept back to your child, and what you see is the financial or material resources he has been given or has earned, his time and energy, what he knows, what his talents or strengths are, what relationships he has built, and what he has learned from the past. 

This is followed by our second business capability, Processes. Unlike resources, processes are relatively intangible and cannot be seen on a balance sheet. They are what your child does with the resources he has, to accomplish and create new things for himself. Within a business, these include the ways products are developed and made, and the methods by which market research, budgeting, employee development, compensation and resource allocation are accomplished. The ways in which those employees interact, coordinate, communicate, and make decisions are known as processes. What about for your child? These processes could be the way he thinks, how he asks insightful questions, how and whether he can solve problems of various types, how he works with others, and so on.

How about the third business capability? You might not be surprised if I tell you that priorities are the most important of the 3 business capabilities. According to Christensen, it is important that managers clearly and consistently articulate the priorities of the company so everyday decision making is in sync with the ways your company makes money, if it is to stay profitable or in business. For your child, it is the personal priorities in his life such as family, school, work, sports or faith. If you look close enough, you should be able to spot what is at the top of his priority list, what he tends to procrastinate and what he has no interest in doing at all.

Remember, your child learns when he is ready to learn, not when you are ready to teach. Help him identify his resources, processes and priorities as he is going through his formal education. This will not only help you raise your child to be successful but give you opportunities to create a more meaningful relationship with your child. With so many priorities in your current job, you are not going to be there for your child all the time when he’s growing up. Make the little time you have together count. Raise your child like a business, figure out his capabilities. Thank you.

Read more at How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen.