I’ve always felt that running my family is the equivalent to being a CEO. Like a chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 company, I spend my days keeping my family focused and helping them avoid pitfalls. Okay, so my pitfalls may include lost homework instead of falling corporate stock, but it’s important work just the same! All the moms I know are just like me. Their “family business” never stops so these mamas don’t have the luxury of a day off. When Mommy CEO doesn’t bring her A-game, “The Family, Inc.” falls apart.
But what happens when the CEO of the family has her own personal crisis? How does the family stay on track? A few months ago, I had major surgery and was faced with this scenario. I muddled through it and the family (somehow) held it together. The stress of it all made me think that it would have been smart to have a family crisis plan in place BEFORE the crisis arose. CEOs make sure they have one in place for their companies, so why shouldn’t all of us Chief Excellence Officers do the same thing?
When you think about it, creating a family crisis plan is as easy as 1-2-3:
Step 1 – Create a board of directors. Companies make sure that they have smart board members at their helm to help lead the company to success. Follow their example. Gather your most reliable friends and family and make sure that they know that you’ll depend on them to step in and help should a crisis arise.
Step 2 – Share your family’s calendar and schedules with your “board.” If you were incapacitated you’d want to make sure that your family wouldn’t miss a beat. From breakfast time to bedtime, make sure that you don’t leave anything out of the family schedule. Feel free to note any important family routines that are important to making your family feel comfortable throughout the day (i.e. Baby Joshua likes the blue binky at his noon naptime. But he prefers a teddy bear when he goes to sleep for the night). Be sure to keep the family schedule in an easy to reach place and inform your board where this file is located.
Step 3 – Put together a “Mamadex.” Like a CEO’s rolodex, the “mamadex” is your list of important contact phone numbers and email addresses. List every contact number that would be needed to keep your family running in your absence. Phone numbers for schools, daycares, your partner’s job, good friends, the pediatrician, dentist and any other important contact numbers should be all in one place. You can store this information in the same file with the family schedule.
Now just sit back and relax. You can rest assured knowing that should the need arise, your household will run smoothly and be led by capable hands.
MommyNoire readers, what else would you include in your family crisis plan?
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