Could your family benefit from being run like a business?

That's the premise behind author Patrick Lencioni's latest, "The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable ... About restoring Sanity to the Most Important Organization in Your Life," (Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint, 2008, $24.95, 208 pp.) (I favorably reviewed Lencioni's book "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job" in January 2008 -- check that review out here.)

While this book is labeled in the "family & relationship/parenting" category, it certainly doesn't hurt to look at it from a business perspective.

Much as he did in "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job," Lencioni uses a simple tale to communicate what might be to some a complicated business concept -- or in this case, an idea for improving family time.

A father of four and business consultant/bestselling author who's often on the road, Lencioni said he tested out his model in his own home. After all, if your family is the most important organization in your life, why wouldn't a business executive apply the tools they use at work to improve the way his/her family functions?

"Family chaos is just a part of life, and so we accept levels of confusion and disorganization and craziness at home that we would not tolerate at work," Lencioni states in the book's introduction. Less chaos, for most families, including a few extremely busy young families I know, would be good.

Lencioni said he and his wife have found benefits to applying a few simple strategic concepts to managing his own family.

"The vast majority of families I know - including my own - wold admit that one or more of the following adjectives apply to them: reactive, scattered, frantic chaotic, stressed," he writes. "And if you were to ask them if they were living their lives with the sense of purpose and intentionality that they want, every last one of them would look at you like you were mocking them and say 'Are you kidding?'"

And so Lencioni has come up with this easy-to-understand fable about a couple who are struggling to keep on top of three kids, school and church obligations, sports and other extracurriculars, and simply finding time to hang out as a family.

The book opens with a frustrated husband, Jude making the following (rather loaded) statement to his stay-at-home wife, Theresa: "If my clients ran their companies the way we run this family, they'd be out of business!" After taking some time to get over her initial indignation, the wife proceeds to investigate that claim.

It all boils down to these three questions a family can live by to restore sanity and clarity. I'll tell you the questions, but it will be in very simplistic and out-of-context form. They're better illustrated by reading this little fable, which you could easily do in a night or two (no matter how busy you are).

1) What makes your family unique? Basically, what makes you you and differentiates you from everyone else on the block.

2) What's your family's top priority (aka rallying cry) right now? That would be your main goal over the next 2 to 6 months, and it could be something like carve out more family time or it could be something like moving to a bigger house. It's the main thing that drives you as a family at this time.

3) How do you talk about and use the answers to these questions? What are you doing to implement the first two questions. Holding weekly family meetings? Keeping a spreadsheet?

How did Theresa and Jude answer these questions and implement the answers? They're "rallying cry" was to spend more time together as a family. That meant Theresa had to said no to taking on a time-consuming post at church. Jude and Theresa decided to cut back on their kids' extracurriculars. They cut back on social activities as well as TV-watching. They made family vacations a priority. And, lastly, Jude decided to cut back in his business travel for the overall benefit of the family.

Then they met weekly for 10 minutes to keep up with it all and adjust as needed. They kept a whiteboard in the kitchen as a reminder of the "rallying cry" and what was needed to achieve it. And, lo and behold, it worked. And they were on to their next "rallying cry," which had to do with helping one of their kids with an attention deficit.

To further illustrate the concept, Lencioni goes through several other "families" and their experiences with the "three big questions." He also notes that his own family is far from picture perfect:

"Well, I have to tell you that the Lencioni family continues to experience its fair share of stress, and we don't expect that to go away anytime soon. But I am glad to report that by answering the questions laid out here, we have begun to channel that stress in a general direction and obtain a sense of progress," he writes.

A good deal of chaos remains, he admits, but "we're being more purposeful now about which chaos to tolerate and which to squash."

I really like his wife's comment at the end of the book:

"When something is part of a bigger goal that I know we're going to be talking about every week, it's harder for me to let it get pushed aside by those pesky, tactical, and artificially urgent things that distract us from what really matters. Now I can let some things go that I would have felt guilty about ignoring in the past when everything was equally important."

Working together toward a pre-determined common goal: Not a novel concept, but one that might help some stressed out family-type folks I know.

We don't get sent home with summer reading lists anymore. But if you're like me, you have a running list all year round.

Well, it's always a hoot to see what other people are reading, which is why I joined the booklovers' site Goodreads.com a few years ago (want to be my Goodreads reading buddy, click here) at the urging of my friend Sarah.

Here is a list of what some Philadelphia-area authors have on their summer reading lists by Philadelphia Literary Scene Examiner Kathye Petrie: Philadelphia authors talk about their summer reading.

My summer reading list, which is evolving and is largely based on a) what books my well-read sister in Colorado sends me and b)what books people bring into work and recommend, currently includes "The Gathering" by Anne Enright, and "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown (to be read before I see the movie).

I just finished "A Walk in the Woods," by Bill Bryson, which made me not only want to find some way to become a better, funnier writer, but also to hop on the Appalachian Trail as soon as possible and see a little bit of the sites he was talking about. Except for the incessant rain, blisters and body odor and lack of food other than raisins and Snickers.

Hmmm. I may be headed to the Delaware Water Gap this weekend...

Acclaimed chef Marc Vetri, a James Beard Award winner, will be stopping at the Anthropologie store in his hometown of Philadelphia for a special book signing this Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Customers will have a chance to chat with Vetri about recipes, techniques and his debut cookbook, Il Viaggio di Vetri (Ten Speed Press, 2008). The book was co-authored by David Joachim and features photographs by Douglas Takeshi Wolfe.

Anthropologie is located at 1801 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

Vetri is the owner of Philadelphia restaurants Vetri and Osteria.

Vetri is known for his rustic Italian cooking. This from Osteria's website: "Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region's most noted chefs, Marc Vetri brings a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. Within two years of opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant, Vetri was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer's highest restaurant rating. In 2005, Vetri won the James Beard Award for "Best Chef Mid-Atlantic."

Too bad he won't be cooking...

I don't know anyone who still uses a "live for today" attitude when it comes to finance.

Heck, I even, after mulling it over for about 30 min., put back a cute purse in T.J. Maxx the other day and decided to just go home and use one of the thousand other purses I already have (How's that for thrift?). Why did I have this moment of wallet consciousness? Because the $49.99 I could've laid down on that accessory will buy a few days of meals. And I think more about every single purchase I make now than I did, say, a couple of years ago, before my retirement savings got cut in half just like everyone else's ... But enough about me!

These three books, reviewed in brief by The Associated Press Personal Finance Team, take a look at a new attitude toward wealth.

Bookshelf: Is the richest man in town thrifty?

By The AP Personal Finance Team

The "live for today" attitude that helped run up credit card balances and drive down savings accounts is getting a new look these days as Americans struggle through the recession.
Two new book releases present arguments about how to change that attitude, while one offers insight into the tactics wealthy people across the country used to reach their goals.
__________
TITLE: Whatever Happened to Thrift: Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do About It
AUTHOR: Ronald T. Wilcox
PUBLISHER: Yale University Press
PRICE: $20 (paperback)
SUMMARY: Wilcox, a business professor at the University of Virginia, examines the rational and irrational reasons underlying Americans' failure to adequately save, particularly among the poor. Coming amid a recession, the book isn't uplifting — it shows how many of us are ill-prepared to support ourselves in retirement. Wilcox also demonstrates that our shortcomings pose national challenges, arguing that savings are essential to economic growth. Rather then dwelling solely on doom and gloom, Wilcox offers public policy proposals to encourage thrift, as well as tips for boosting household savings. He also presents suggestions for corporate executives to improve employee savings plans. And while he argues the credit card industry and corporate America share plenty of blame for our collective savings failures, he advises to look at ourselves first.
QUOTE: "Truthfully, we are at the root of the problem; for the most part, it is not the companies, the government, or some evil spirit that possesses us and causes us to spend too much. We are just fallible human beings operating in the world we live in as Americans."
— Mark Jewell
__________
TITLE: The Elephant in the Room: Sharing the Secrets for Pursuing Real Financial Success
AUTHOR: Barry Bridger
PUBLISHER: Wiley
PRICE: $19.95 (hardcover)
SUMMARY: Bridger takes an unusual approach by creating a fictional narrative involving a man named Michael Davidson and his wife, Jennifer, talking with his wise, prosperous aunt about their financial troubles. This short book details the characteristics needed for financial security.
Unlike most personal finance books, there are no charts, graphs or worksheets, and no specific advice for budgeting, money management or paying down debt. Rather, the author focuses on the attitudes, values and behaviors needed to transform a financial life from month-to-month anxiety to well-planned security.
Bridger's aim is to get readers thinking beyond the numbers and focusing on their goals, and to understand that the key is not how much they earn, but how they spend it.
QUOTE: "Everything we do affects the way we earn money, save money and spend money. Everything we believe and feel affects the way we act. Those behaviors, the way we act, the things we do, affect our financial future."
— Eileen AJ Connelly
__________
TITLE: The Richest Man In Town: The Twelve Commandments of Wealth
AUTHOR: W. Randall Jones
PUBLISHER: Business Plus, an imprint of Hatchette Book Group
PRICE: $25.95 (hardcover)
SUMMARY: Worth magazine founder Randy Jones set out to learn the secret to becoming rich. So he interviewed 100 self-made business people prominent in communities large and small across the U.S.
Some, such as Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Carl Icahn, are well known, while others are not quite household names. But Jones found they all share certain traits.
Jones uses an easy-to-read style to present those traits as 12 commandments readers should follow to build their own fortunes. Sprinkling in quotes and insights from his interview subjects, philosophers and famous writers, he directs readers to do things like "Get addicted to ambition" and "Moor yourself to morals," and above all, not to pursue money for the sake of money.
Borrowing his title from the toast at the end of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," he maintains that a rich life is one that includes personal fulfillment and contributing real value to the world, not just the accumulation of dollars.
QUOTE: "There are people who have loads of money, and there are people who are rich. There is a decided difference between them."
—Eileen AJ Connelly

It's not often ... OK, it's never happened before ... that someone sends me a children's book to review. So when "Josh The Baby Otter: A tale promoting water safety for children" by Blake Collingsworth, and adorably illustrated by Ashley Spitsnogle, arrived in the mail, I didn't want to just ignore it.

"Josh The Baby Otter" (published by Blake Collingsworth, 2009, $8.95) is the tale of, well, a baby otter named Josh who is urged by his mommy otter to learn to float before he can go off and swim with his buddies. And, young Josh is told by his mom, he must never, EVER, swim alone.

"It's time we started talking to children about the dangers of water. Yes, water is fun, but ONLY WHEN WE ARE TOGETHER," the author writes on a release that accompanied the book.

The book includes a sing-a-long CD, along with words and music, to a song called "Learn to Float" that hammers the message home.

At the end of the tiny little book is when you learn that it's dedicated to the author's son, Josh, who died at the age of 2 and a half in the family's backyard pool, presumably trying to fill his water gun. The family's mission is to spread the news that drowning is the No. 1 cause of death to kids ages 1 to 4. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to drowning prevention education, instruction and the development of new innovative safety equipment through the Joshua Collingsworth memorial Foundation (http://www.joshuamemorial.org/).

It is obviously a labor of love and tragic loss. The book is dedicated to Joshua Collingsworth, with a small photo of the gorgeous toddler on the dedication page, and the back cover includes a photo and memorium.

My hesitation is that the book, however inviting with cute otters throughout, will scare the bejesus out of young children. I would like to pass this along to three of my nieces, ages 3, 7 and 9, who love all creatures furry, enjoy singing along of any type and continue to excel at their swimming lessons, but am concerned the oldest two will fixate on the child and his tragic death.

I feel for the author and his family. They have obviously been through hell. Maybe a little bit of scary is worth a whole lot of caution.

I will give the book the ultimate test of sending it to my sister. She will know within seconds whether she feels it is acceptable to be passed along to the girls.

Notably, the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation has, as of May 1, donated a copy of this book to every elementary school in the Collingsworths' home state of Nebraska with a "plea to teachers and administrators to please read this book and talk to your young students before school recesses for the summer break."

The reviewing, and even the pleasure reading, has been slow-going lately. In typical fashion I have about 4 books going, strewn about my bedroom floor, but none of them has really caught my full attention yet.

So, if I'm not reading (finishing) many books, not watching TV, have cut back on my movie habit and haven't mowed my lawn in days (weeks? Sorry, neighbors), what could I possibly be doing with my time?

One word: Facebook. Aka the time-suck where I run into old pals and stay up into the wee hours.

It's also the time of year: I can stay out later neglecting my lawn and not buying the tomato plants I need to buy.

Below are three new business books the AP has taken the time to capsulize. I guess the "personal finance team" is not too busy friending their former elementary school best friends to review some books... (P.S. You are looking at The Mercury's "personal finance team.")

Bookshelf: Things they won't tell you
The AP Personal Finance Team

"It all sounds good, but what aren't they telling me?" As a consumer that's a question you might ask about your plumber, auto mechanic or any other service-provider. If you're intrigued, that's the concept behind the new compilation of SmartMoney's collection of its regular "10 Things They Won't Tell You" feature.

While investors with a bit of an appetite for risk may want to learn more about emerging markets in Riches Among the Ruins. These are just a few of new personal finance titles that might help you sort out your money questions.

_____________________

TITLE: 1,001 Things They Won't Tell You: An Insider's Guide to Spending, Saving, and Living Wisely

AUTHOR: Jonathan Dahl and the editors of SmartMoney, The Wall Street Journal magazine

PUBLISHER: Workman Publishing

PRICE: $16.95 (paperback)

SUMMARY: If you're a fan of lists, you're in for a treat. This book compiles 100 updated installments of SmartMoney's popular monthly feature, "10 Things They Won't Tell You" into more than 500 pages.


The lists are intended to give readers an insider look into a variety of topics, such as using ticket brokers and going to the eye doctor. The book is divided into chapters such as family, education, home, food and drink, and health.

The lists often impart interesting research and are written in a playful tone that make them fun to flip through, if not carefully study. Under "Alternative Healers," for instance, categories include, "I'm not a doctor but I play one in my office" and "Hypochondriacs are my specialty."

Topics aren't always obviously related to personal finance, such as the lists on campus security and yoga instructors. But the implications for the consumer are always kept in mind. As Dahl writes in the introduction, "Who doesn't love a list?"

QUOTE: "It's what you aren't told by the experts that is almost as important as what they do say."

__________

TITLE: Riches Among the Ruins: Adventures in the Dark Corners of the Global Economy

AUTHOR: Robert P. Smith

PUBLISHER: AMACOM

PRICE: $24.95 (hardcover)

SUMMARY: If you think playing the markets in the U.S. isn't for the faint of heart, try trading in the debt of emerging market governments. Fortunes can be made or lost on an overnight currency fluctuation, corruption, or an outbreak of disease — think Mexico and swine flu.

Robert P. Smith is an American who has made and lost tens of millions of dollars trading debt in downtrodden economies. He started in the late 1970s, when such deals were virtually nonexistent. In "Riches Among the Ruins," Smith recounts adventures such as ducking shakedown artists in Nigeria, and racing through the streets of Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. In post-communist Russia, he lost more than $15 million in a single day when the ruble collapsed.

Beyond the war stories, Smith offers lessons relevant for U.S. investors seeking opportunity overseas. Smith also shares his take on the importance of narrowing the gap between rich and poor; the U.S. role in the global economy; and an increasingly integrated world trade system.

QUOTE: "At the end of the day, a country has to rescue itself, because outside sources — the IMF, the World Bank, investment banks, and other nations — often have secondary motives that may not align with the country's national interest."

__________

TITLE: Bank on Yourself

AUTHOR: Pamela Yellen

PUBLISHER: Vanguard Press

PRICE: $25.95 (hardcover)

SUMMARY: Former financial consultant Pamela Yellen maintains that you can't rely on mutual funds, stocks or real estate to provide long-term financial security. She says you can buy cars, fund your child's college, take vacations and make major purchases by using her "Spend and Grow Wealthy" program, which she promises will also enable you to fund your retirement nest egg.

Her secret is a dividend-paying whole life insurance policy offered by a handful of companies, plus a "paid up additions rider." After paying premiums for a few years, the policy is used to fund loans to yourself. You then pay back those loans, with the interest you would have paid to banks or credit card companies, helping to build up your reserves.

The book is filled with anecdotes and personal stories of people who have used the plan. But there are few worksheets or specific details on exactly how it works, and Yellen warns readers that discussing the plan with most finance or insurance professionals will yield criticisms of her advice, because they are not trained in the specialized program. Throughout the book there are references to the related Web site, www.bankonyourself.com, which is where readers are directed to go for a referral to a "Bank on Yourself Certified Advisor."

QUOTE: "Your retirement plan investments are typically subject to market risk and volatility. However, your principal in a B.O.Y. plan won't vanish due to a stock or real estate market correction. And your growth, as soon as it's credited to your plan, is locked in."

Book event in our area...and it's in the gorgeous Valley Forge Park. (Click here to read my recent post about another book that involves the park). What could be better? (Well, if it wasn't happening at 4 p.m. on a workday...) But for those of you who can go, enjoy a little historial fiction.

Below is from the press release sent by Valley Forge:

Best-Selling Author Ray Raphael to speak at Valley Forge National Park

VALLEY FORGE – Renowned author, Ray Raphael, launches his newest book, “Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation” with a lecture at Valley Forge National Historical Park next Thursday, May 21, at 4:00 p.m.

Raphael examines how to call back a distant time, to view it more fully and accurately. “The reality of our nation’s founding has narrowed in the decades and centuries since. Actual events have been simplified, and the truth diminished,” says Raphael.

In this new book, Raphael examines seven lead characters:

General George Washington
Joseph Plumb Martin, a private in his army
Mercy Otis Warren, the most political woman of the Revolutionary generation
Robert Morris, the most powerful civilian in Revolutionary America who was strangely forgotten
Timothy Bigelow, a small-town blacksmith who helped engineer the first overthrow of British authority in 1774
Henry Laurens, South Carolina’s most unlikely rebel
Thomas Young, a country doctor turned revolutionary

Using each of these unique stories, Raphael leapfrogs past centuries of mythology and filtrations of the historical record to explore the American Revolution as it was known by those who lived it. His previous award-winning works include “A People’s History of the American Revolution,” “The First Revolution – Before Lexington and Concord,” and “Founding Myths.”

Copies of “Founders” will be available for sale in the Encampment Store. The author will be available to sign copies after the lecture. This free, public event is sponsored by Valley Forge National Historical Park, The Friends of Valley Forge Park, The Encampment Store at Valley Forge and The New Press. Call 610-783-1006 or e-mail maher@valleyforge.org for more information or to register.