by Andrew Holder, CEO of TDA Interiors and author of Reflections of a Modern Man.
Maintaining a successful career while raising a family of four is no easy task. The modern man does a lot of running: running a business, running a family, running meetings, running up hills, running up bills, running the bath for the babies, running the kids to school, running amok, running around like a headless chook.
You manage a business, but you also have to manage your family. I have found that throughout life many of the same strategies can be implemented in both home and office and it’s been interesting for me to watch my family grow alongside my business.
Work and family are connected, they shouldn’t be kept separate and there is a lot to learn by taking in lessons from both aspects of your life. I have learnt that being a father teaches you how to be a manager and vice versa.
Youth is not always wasted on the young
At home, speed is a necessary part of being a young child. Everything has to be done quickly so that you can get on to the next thing to avoid boredom. Their level of aptitude for the new world gadgets surpasses yours very quickly. At work, we have just employed a number of Generation Y staff. Naturally, there are issues around maturity but if you can get past this you will see the refreshing benefits. Their dexterity with modernity and the digital age can save you thousands of dollars. And, I can now understand and reply to most of their text messages. I can rofl and say thx 4 chat cya 18r m8 :) with the best of them.