I have a business-coaching client, Scott, who is succeeding faster than some of my other clients in his entrepreneurial venture. The other day we were talking about how he has taken his approach to success at work and created a similar system to make his children successful (they are 5, 7, and 10).
Scott's system for his own success consists of planning out his year's goals and creating a series of spreadsheets to monitor week-by-week activity and month-by-month results. He and his assistant are maniacal about keeping the spreadsheet up-to-date-and meeting or exceeding each benchmark. So here is what he implemented with his 7-year-old son, Mark. At the end of the goal-sheet I'll tell you a bit more about what has happened as a result.
Mark's Objective: To create a set of priorities that I will execute successfully.
School Responsibilities
- Homework and projects.
- Read 10 minutes alone each day.
Household Responsibilities
- Monitoring the trash levels and taking the trash to the trash cans.
- Creating a clean room at the end of the day.
- Responsible for the playroom clean-up on Monday and Wednesday.
Athletic Responsibilities
- Take one golf lesson per week.
- Practice with Daddy once per week.
- Develop baseball skills for 15 minutes 5 days per week.
- Throw the football with Daddy (run routes).
- Learn how to dribble, shoot and pass the basketball 2 days per week.
- Once a month go to a shooting range to shoot my .22 rifle.
- Jog down the street 3 times per week for endurance.
Hobbies
- Take a guitar lesson once per week.
- Practice guitar 15 minutes 5 days per week.
Bible
- Read 5 minutes each night.
Playtime
- WII
- Nintendo DS
- Play with Dad and Mom.
- Jump on the trampoline with sisters.
How can I make sure my system works well and I execute?
- I am responsible to execute the plan. Make Dad and Mom hold me accountable.
Here's what has happened: Mark has kept to his schedule but has also started anticipating other needs. The other day a light bulb blew and instead of asking Daddy to take care of it, he unscrewed it and brought it to Scott and together they changed the bulb. He also got to learn a new word, initiative. I commented to Scott that the list was really interesting, especially the five minutes of Bible reading a day. Why not 30 minutes or an hour? Obviously, 7-year-old boys can't focus for that long on anything except Nintendo. So Scott is already very aware of creating goals that Mark can achieve with success.
Why bring all this up on a site about entrepreneurship? Goal-setting is important for all entrepreneurs. Yet most of the ones I know don't have goals that are committed to writing, with accountability attached. Look, if a 7-year-old can be successful with a system like this, you can, too. What do you think? Please leave a comment.
This is great. Did the children get to help design their goals, accountability and celebrations for success?
Yes, the kids absolutely partnered in creating their goals. Some people I’ve talked to think the idea is heavy handed and controlling (”how can a 7 year old really participate in something like this?”). But I think kids want to be managed and directed, and want to achieve. Plus, the focus was equally on fun and responsibility. I’m glad you liked the idea.
Thanks for sharing.
I think it is a bit disturbing to add so much structure to the life of a seven year old. Schools provide structure but in my mind fail to develop entrepreneurs successfully. Creativity is enhanced by play and free thinking and a young mind is still developing all the neural paths that will lead to their fully developed adult mind. That said it is a good illustration of how to set some manageable goals.
Andrew, thanks for your comment. I knew some people would find this “disturbing” — all the more reason for sharing it. But parental involvement in setting the tone early on is something we rarely see anymore. I’m 53 and I think there’s been a generational shift away from structure and responsibility when it comes to raising kids. That’s what I liked about my client Scott’s approach. But it may not be for everyone. Maybe not even for me (although my kids are all 18+).