A lot has happened since the first edition of The Family Board Meeting came out in 2015.
The book began as a way to help change what I saw as one of the most tragic challenges of modern life: the disconnection of busy entrepreneurs from their families. I was saddened to watch these talented, wonderful people drift away from their children on a tide of distraction, stress, and regret.
It wasn’t long, however, before the book’s message began to spread. The entrepreneurs that we worked with started to share the philosophy—first with their key employees and team members, then with friends and family members, who passed it on in turn. Slowly, but surely, our little book for helping entrepreneurs built into a growing wave that rolled out from the business community to the world at large.
Since then we’ve been overwhelmed—and overjoyed
—by the stories of success that have rolled in from around the globe. Side note: if YOU have a story to share with us, please do! Reach out to us at www.familyboardmeetings.com. I am often greeted at events with, “Oh! You’re the family guy!” and I couldn’t be happier to hear those words used to describe me. To know that one simple idea—an idea born on the waves and then spread through families in a ripple of connection—has had such an impact, is one of the great joys of my life.
I’ve also been delighted to discover how our simple process for reconnecting parents and their children doesn’t just work for busy entrepreneurs but works for everyone. From teachers to doctors, carpenters to chefs; we now know that the Family Board Meetings process works for anyone, anywhere in any type of work or family situation.
In hindsight, of course, it makes sense. After all, it isn’t just entrepreneurs who want and need to connect with their children. It’s everyone. In this time of distraction and often overwhelming demands, who doesn’t want that? Connection, it turns out, is universal.
This edition of The Family Board Meeting does two things to help make that goal of connection even simpler to accomplish. First, it expands the language and application of the original book to make it accessible for everyone. No matter what work you do, or how busy you are, the three simple steps in the pages that follow can, without a doubt, transform your relationship with your children.
Second, we’ve added an FAQ section to help people deal with the most common pitfalls and uncertainties along the way. If there’s a snag in your Family Board Meeting, chances are you can untangle it in the pages that follow.
Although we call these important meetings Board Meetings, I have heard others call it Daddy Day or 1:1 or Date Day. No matter what you call your time together, the principles are still the same.
As you begin to read, know this: it is always possible, and never too late, to connect deeply with your children. This is true regardless of your age, your work, or your circumstances. I believe that in the pages ahead, you’ll discover that The Family Board Meeting isn’t just a tool for entrepreneurs to reconnect with their kids; it’s a rhythm for changing lives.
I hope the rhythm moves you.
–Jim Sheils Spring, 2018