Gimmie Three Steps - Jim Sheils (Entrepreneur, & Co-Founder of Board Meetings International)

Jim Sheils is a busy man: he’s a real estate entrepreneur, speaker, and social entrepreneur. Despite having such a busy life, Jim regularly makes time for his two boys through The Board Meeting Strategy and it’s that strategy he shares with us in his Paper Napkin Wisdom. "I do it all for them," is something that many entrepreneurs say when referencing the long hours, business trips, and lack of regular day-to-day balance of our work schedules. We often will ask our children to wait while we finish an email, a call, or reading a report. What happens if one day they stop tugging at our leg for attention? What happens if they no longer care about the BIG family holiday, or house, or options that comes from making the entrepreneurial choices we've made for so long? What happens when they say that all they wanted was more time with us? Jim takes the guessing out of that. And his strategy is simple. Give your children, each of them, the same attention you give to your best clients, suppliers, or Board Members. He says that once a quarter, you have a "Board Meeting" with each of your children. The meeting has to be at least four hours in duration and it consists of three principles: one-on-one time, no electronics, and a fun activity with focused reflection. It’s about deepening the connection you have with your kids and each principle of the strategy has its own importance. One on one time is important because children want individual attention; they need to be appreciated as individuals. When you use the Board Meeting Strategy you give them that attention in an educational, fun, constructive way. You put a magnifying glass on your relationship with your child and give them the ability to be more confident and open with you because they feel that they’re valued. The philosophy behind the second principle is an extension of that one-on-one time. Spending time without electronics keeps you in that human connection and keeps you from getting disconnected. You can’t truly say you’re spending quality time with your child if you’re simultaneously answering texts, calls, or e-mails. Nor can you say you’re spending quality time if you’re both just sat in front of a screen and not engaging. In removing electronics from the equation of your time together, you show your child that you are guarding that time with them, that you want to be engaged with them, and that is a powerful message. The last principle is arguably the most difficult, not because a fun activity is hard to find or because focused reflection seems daunting, but because it involves letting go of control a bit and being vulnerable. You have to give your child ownership of your day together, let them pick the activity. As leaders, we tend to think it’s up to us to make the plan, design the day, but you have to let your child take the initiative. In giving your child the power you are not only teaching them independence, you’re showing them you care and are interested in what they might be interested in, and that further instills the message that you value them. Listen to my conversation with Jim here:

Jim’s website: http://boardmeetings.com/