Lean Agile Family

Photo by Mike Scheid on Unsplash

What’s it like to build intentionality into your family?

Back in 2011 when I was knee deep in startup mode, I read Eric Ries’ Lean Startup book and began incorporating some of the principles into our family rhythms.

The core concept from a business perspective is that in a world of constant change and disruption it’s those that learn and adapt the fastest that wins. Many high-performance businesses are adopting Lean / Agile methodologies now, and I think a lot of it can apply to raising a family today.

Similar to Daily Stand Up Meetings, we typically have ‘family meetings’ over dinner. Anyone (after eating at least 15 bites) can call a meeting. In our tradition, the instigator needs to stretch both hands in the air and shout ‘family meeting is now in session’! This made it super fun for the kids.

We often leverage a build-measure-learn loop within family meetings. We ask questions like what’s something new we can try this week? What was hard today? What’s something that mommy & daddy can do better?

We experiment lots. We learn things like which water parks we actually enjoy, and how pay-what-you-want lemonade stands raise far more money than preset prices.

We created our own family manifesto and regularly reflect on our family values. It’s laced with principles such as continuous improvement, autonomy, human-centered design, but in more accessible language.

Recently we’ve begun a new habit of sitting together quietly journaling towards the end of each evening. It’s our version of retrospectives. It’s merely five minutes of reflection. Nothing needs to be shared, other than the moment together. For me, the act of reflection is far more important than the details of what’s written.

These are some rituals that are working for us at the moment. We expect them to continue to evolve.

What ways are you building intentionality into your family?

We’re always open to new ideas.

Spread the love