👪 what thriving fams do differently

Dr. Carrie Mackensen shares what thriving families do differently, the book that made our tbr pile, and our pet of the week, Percy.

Subscribe here | Unsubscribe here | Weekender Mar 22, 2025 🤔 Brainteaser of the day: Find a number less than 100 that is increased by one-fifth of its value when its digits are reversed. Click here to see the answer. ✅ Today's Checklist:  What thriving families do differently Add this to your TBR Pet of the week: Percy QUICK LINKS 📚 Improve your skills with these top leadership books for women. 💤 Sleep like a pro with these 15 proven tips for a better night's rest. 🧐 What are PFAS and do we need to worry about them? 🔎 Job hunting solo? Not anymore with this job search wingman.  PARENTING     The Missing Framework Most Families Need (That Smart Companies Already Have) Ever notice how some families seem to have it all together? Their secret might be hiding in plain sight – at work! According to Dr. Carrie Mackensen, a renowned psychologist with 25 years of experience working with families, there's a game-changing strategy that thriving families borrow straight from the Fortune 500 playbook. The corporate-to-home connection you never saw coming: Think about it – would Amazon or Apple operate without a mission statement or core values? Of course not! Yet when it comes to our most important organization - our families - most of us are winging it without this essential foundation. Even the most accomplished executives who wouldn't dream of running their departments without strategic direction are often parenting reactively, putting out fires instead of working from a clear framework. The family revolution hiding in your business strategy: When families create and live by explicit values, Dr. Carrie reports three transformative shifts: Co-parents finally get on the same page. No more arguing over how to parent, undermining each other's decisions or sending mixed messages to the kids. You're operating from a shared playbook that ends the "ask Dad if Mom says no" strategy! Discipline transforms from punishment to teaching. The dreaded "because I said so" gets replaced by quoting the shared family value: "In our family, we respect others' boundaries." Kids actually understand the 'why' behind family rules. When they grasp the principles behind decisions, they're more likely to make value-aligned choices independently (yes, even when you're not watching). Dr. Carrie regularly observes successful professionals experiencing what she calls an "alignment gap" at home. When stated values like "my family matters most" don't match actions (hello, 60-hour workweeks and constant email checking!), internal conflict develops – often showing up as sleep troubles, anxiety, and parenting guilt. Your simplest path to family harmony: The solution isn't complicated – it starts with getting clear on what matters most. Creating a family mission statement isn't just another task on your endless to-do list; it's the foundation that transforms reactive parenting into intentional leadership. The best part? It's never too late to start. Whether you're expecting your first child or deep in the teenage years, this process creates immediate clarity and connection. Ready to apply your business superpowers at home? Join Dr. Carrie's Successful Parent weekly newsletter to get her free, easy-to-follow Family Values Worksheet, and transform your family in one weekend. Thousands of professional parents have already used this resource to build thriving families with the same intentionality they bring to work.   👉 Join Successful Parent for Free and Get the Family Values Worksheet. P.S. You can also follow her on IG here. AUTONOMY TOOLS     Tired of Being the Human Glue Holding Everything Together? We got you.   Can we be honest for a moment? You're probably working harder than you need to... Not because you're doing anything wrong, but because you're caught up in all those little tasks that steal your time. Following up on projects, managing endless notifications, wrestling with spreadsheets — it's exhausting, right? So here's the rundown of what really works: ⏳ Can't escape the "quick update" requests? → monday.com is your new bodyguard. It's like having a project manager that never sleeps... or asks for vacation days. Automatically tracks everything. Shows progress visually. Keeps everyone in their lane. And best part? Those "quick update" meetings can die in a fire. Because everyone already knows what's up. 📝 Sick of being the designated meeting note-taker? → Fellow is about to be your new best friend. This AI-powered beauty captures everything important while you actually PARTICIPATE in the meeting. It automatically tracks key takeaways and action items, so you can stay focused on what's moving the needle. 📇 Is your CRM a soul-crushing time vampire? → Pipedrive makes sales feel like easy mode. Automates all the boring follow-up stuff. Nurtures leads while you sleep. And shows you what's worth chasing vs what's just burning your time. 💳 Drowning in invoice hell? → Paychex is your get-out-of-jail-free card. It handles all the money stuff that gives normal humans anxiety attacks. Payroll. Taxes. Benefits. All that fun stuff that makes accountants rich. 📅 Playing "resource Tetris" with your team's workload? → Resource Guru saves your sanity. Shows you exactly who's drowning in work (and who's...not). No more guessing. No more burnout. Just balanced workloads that keep your team happy and productive. You could keep playing superhero and doing everything manually. Or you could pick ONE of these tools and actually have time to do work that matters. STAFF PICKS     📚 Read: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto A murder mystery, but make it delightfully nosy. Vera Wong, a tea shop owner with strong auntie energy, finds a dead body in her store—and naturally takes the investigation into her own hands. Think Knives Out meets your favorite neighborhood gossip. Cozy, clever, and full of heart. 📺 Watch: A Thousand Blows Gritty London streets, underground boxing, and Stephen Graham playing the kind of guy you definitely don't want to owe money to. This 1880s-set drama packs action, survival, and slow-burn tension into every episode. Come for the fight scenes, stay for the edge-of-your-seat storytelling. 🎧 Listen: Music is Better by RÜFÜS DU SOL This track feels like floating in slow motion. Ideal for deep work, moodier workouts, or pretending you're the main character in a nighttime montage. DIGITAL MARKETING     Why Smart Advertisers Are Sneaking Over to Snapchat Ads   Remember when advertising used to be simpler? When you could run Facebook ads without breaking the bank? When Instagram actually showed your posts to followers? Those were the days. But now, while most advertisers are struggling with skyrocketing costs, some have discovered a surprising alternative. Snapchat. (Yes, really.) Here's what makes it interesting: The costs are actually reasonable. The tracking works like it should. And the audience? Way different than you'd expect. Sure, there are young users, but these aren't just kids sharing filtered selfies anymore. They're buyers. With real budgets. And they open the app 40 times per day. That's 40 chances to get in front of eager customers. 40 opportunities to make an impression. 40 moments to convert browsers into buyers. The best part? Snapchat is practically paying people to test their platform right now. Spend $350, get $375 in ad credits. That's basically free money to try something new. If you're serious about growth — the clock's ticking.  JUST FOR FUN PET OF THE WEEK     Meet Percy   Percy is a chihuahua-dachshund mix whose main goal in life is to Zoom-bomb as many online meetings as possible. When he's not napping on his mom or dad's lap, he loves to sun himself in shafts of light on the floor like a cat. His favorite snack is string cheese, but he won't say no to anything that has "accidentally" fallen off the kitchen table from his humans' dinner. 🐾 Got a cute fur baby? Submit them to be our pet of the week in an upcoming issue. Pssst…Did you know 1 in 3 pets need emergency vet care every year 🐶🐱? Spot Pet Insurance helps pet parents get up to 90% cash back on covered vet bills—so you can focus on cuddles, not costly vet visits. Plus, unlock up to $2,500 in savings on pet faves like The Farmer's Dog, Furbo, and BarkBox! Learn more & snag up to 20%* off your Spot policy. Disclaimers: "Pet Insurance Statistics 2024" Forbes Advisor, Jan 3, 2024. ∞ No purchase necessary. See spotpet.com/perks-terms. *10% strategic partner discount on all pets. 5% in LA, NE, TX, VA, and WA. Not available in FL, HI, MN, TN. 10% multi-pet discount on 2nd+ pets. The Assist Newsletter is not a licensed insurance agency nor an underwriter of insurance, but may receive compensation for this ad. Insurance plans are underwritten by either Independence American Insurance Company (NAIC #26581. A Delaware insurance company located at 11333 N. Scottsdale Rd, Ste. 160, Scottsdale, AZ 85254) or United States Fire Insurance Company (NAIC #21113. Morristown, NJ), and are produced by Spot Pet Insurance Services, LLC. (NPN # 19246385. 990 Biscayne Boulevard Suite 603, Miami, FL 33132. CA License #6000188). Premiums are based on and may increase or decrease due to the age of your pet, the species or breed of your pet, and your home address. 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