Dear Valued Stakeholders,

Host: Elane V Scott

Every year in the time surrounding Mother’s Day in the United States, stories pop up all over the news letting us know that the ten or more functions a mother performs in her every day are now worth X amount of dollars. According to Salary.com, in 2009 "the job titles that best matched a mom's definition of her work are (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, facilities manager, van driver, psychologist, laundry machine operator, janitor, and chief executive officer." And for her efforts, her annual salary would equate to $122,732 for a stay-at-home mom. Working moms 'at-home' salary is $76,184.

In today’s show, my daughter Stefanie and I put that process for determining one parent’s value to the test.

As our listeners know, we routinely refer to the actions and thoughts of people from the six economic sectors that comprise every community, no matter its size: government, education, business, health, media, and the non-profit sector. Generally, the work we all do in life forces us to engage with folks in all these sectors, besides being dependent on them for a functioning society. But what about the nucleus around which all these sectors revolve and serve? Families?

Societies have long been dependent on individual families to guide and steer their off-spring through the trials of life so those off-spring could one day emerge as capable, contributing members of the larger culture, producing more than they consume and assure the sustainability of the society.   Are families a separate, seventh sector because they are dependent on the other six for survival?  Or, are families the one unifying sector that assures the future of all the others?

In our upcoming series of shows for May, Birth2Work Radio will be sharing with you our perspective on the family regarding the roles of its members, and some key ideas about why we believe that preparing kids for the future world of work begins right at birth, not just from when teenagers go to high school. (Hence our name - Birth2Work.)  Here’s a hint:  When you know what you’re looking for in your child at age 2, you can generally determine what he/she will be doing in 10 years.  Their temperaments and social tendencies are already showing themselves. 

At Birth2Work, we don’t think “work” is a bad word. For us, it is a mark of honor to perform work well.  Through the quality of work we deliver, we demonstrate the appreciation and value for the privilege of living in the arms of a society that vows to protect us and provide opportunities for us to excel. It is up to us to take advantage of them.

For today’s program, I wanted to share some of my personal thoughts about the role of mothers who (like the six sectors) we are all dependent upon to make life work.  I share with you an editorial I wrote on the value of mothers as compared to a CEO.   It is one of my favorite pieces of writing. 

My first daughter, Stefanie, and I developed a unique dynamic starting from when she was born at home and began with Suzuki violin and dance lessons at two years old. A veteran performer by four years old, she auditioned for a regional production of the musical “George M!”, was cast, given a solo, and sang to the 1300 people in the theatre five days a week for a month. Turns out, she loved it. And from that point on, my kid became a working professional. Dozens more shows, commercials, and television followed. We were in the greater Los Angeles area after all, so it wasn’t too unusual an after-school activity for kids her age.

What I was clear about from the beginning, was that after food, clothing, and shelter, my job was to consistently keep her wins and losses in perspective so that she learned early in life about how to take no for an answer and keep moving.  Often I was told she would be scarred for life because of the numbers of rejections she might endure before getting cast.  It was, in fact, the opposite that happened.  She became mature and self-confident that sometimes she was what casting directors were looking for, and sometimes she wasn’t, and that was true about life.  Learning to win, to lose, and to take direction, shaped her for the better.   

As the CEO and, as my daughters would say, CCO (Chief Connectivity Officer), of the family I multiplied the value of family resources by focusing on providing experiences for Stefanie and her sister instead of buying stuff.  Yes, my husband worked hard to provide us with every basic thing we needed, but he was a teacher, not an oil baron.

I saw my job as an opportunity to shape two lives and do it right the first time, because I didn’t want to do it a second time when they reached their 20s!  I felt that I was the best person to hold an integrated, comprehensive, view of who they were and wanted to become, and keep a stable, safe environment around them so they could learn and grow.  As the most heralded leaders are lauded for, I executed my long-term plan efficiently, on budget, exceeded expectations and no one got sued in the end! (What’s with so many child actors and their parents?)  The idea is that my job at the micro level, of being part of a team that raised two kids, was never the beginning or end of my life cycle, but a huge part of the middle. Further I knew it would be the primary way in which I could contribute greater value to marketplace over the long term—leaving two thoughtful, articulate, capable thinkers to make their mark.  Their education, in and out of the classroom, was not left to chance. What responsible CEO would leave a workers training up in the air?  Their skill sets were constantly being reinforced and grown, with the knowledge that it is exceedingly more difficult to unlearn and relearn something than it is to learn it right the first time. So some things took more time to achieve. Does any CEO, invested in their company for the long term, rush to simply get a product out? Or do they do research and development, testing, and then a final launch? 

My favorite bonus was the hugs from the little arms of my “product.” I got the joy of watching my little ones achieve and often surpass measures of success espoused by others, and then we put the ribbon/plaque/certificate awards up in the hallway.  For all the things we chose to do without so that I could be there to take Stefanie to auditions and her sister to art classes, we never missed opportunities to joyously learn and do more. So to all of the moms out there who consider that $122,732 salary an award for a simple summation of tasks, Happy Mother’s Day, every day! Enjoy the show.

If you miss this show airing live today, or would like to share it with others, archives of this and other programs are available for free streaming and/or download from our website, www.birth2work.org/radioshow.php.   

Next week we bring you part-one-of-two extraordinary weeks with Janet Doman, Director of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where my fundamental understanding of the possibility of children to excel, no matter what, was shaped in a week and has defined my life since. 

Talk with us at www.birth2work.org and/or through e-mail, info@birth2work.org. VOTE for your preferred location for the upcoming Stakeholder Leader Workshops now being planned for 2009! Stay tuned to Birth2Work Radio, the Voice of the Community Stakeholder Leader.

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