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Most parents would agree that raising kids is one the toughest jobs on the planet. Some days, going to work is so much easier than staying home with your little ones.

But there are some commonalities between the way we approach our work or run a business, and raising our children.

It helps to have a vision

Effective organisations have a vision. They have core values and a core purpose, which guides the culture and direction of the organisation, even as outside business and economic conditions change.

James Collins, author of Built to Last: Successful Habit of Visionary Companies, suggested that to establish a vision an organisation should consider the qualities of its best people and encapsulate these qualities in a few statements.

Families are organisations too, and they benefit from having a vision. In our Parent Manifesto online parenting program, parents identify their family values and craft them into a statement to display on the fridge (or keep in their bag).

The manifesto (or vision statement) defines what’s important in your family, and serves as a guide when you’re making decisions about how to raise your kids or how to establish house rules.

It helps to have a plan

In business, a vision statement alone is insufficient. Visions need to be translated into strategic and then operational plans.

Plans serve as a tool for keeping on track with the vision and dealing with day to day issues.

It’s not so different in families. We can create an inspiring manifesto for our family but what happens the minute our kids challenge us? Do we lose it or stick to the big picture?

It helps to have a way to live out our vision (a plan) when we’re in the trenches with our kids.

Happy employees, happy families

There is a consistent and reliable link between the wellbeing of employees and productivity at work. Employees who are happy and well, and who feel empowered and validated, are much better at their jobs.

Wellbeing also helps us manage our family responsibilities better. Most of us would agree that when we are well-rested and relaxed we can manage most behaviour our kids throw at us. But when we are rushed for time and stressed, we can easily snap!

As we set the emotional tone in our families, it helps to have ways to keep our own wellbeing bucket full, and ways we can teach wellbeing to our kids. Then we are all more productive, and much happier both at work and at home!

Jodie is a Premium member of Business Chicks, you can connect with her here.

Jodie Benveniste is a psychologist, parenting author and the director of Parent Wellbeing . She is the author of four parenting books, a regular commentator in the media, and a consultant to big business and the government. You can find out more about her Parent Manifesto online parenting program here