Parenting Dad (&/or Mom): Creatively Influencing Leadership Values

When I got initial physical custody of my two young children, I condensed my best business and technical leadership values and skills into fun practices. I told both, "Kim, Lance, you don't belong to me. You belong to God who loaned you to me for us to mutually-influence each other. I'm so excited God picked me to be your dad." I wanted them to be leaders, so we three shared parent-of-the-day responsibilities. Practicing leadership (and parenting) skills earned for them "creativity dividends" jointly, which were invested in teddy bears, construction toys, and books. I delegated to them (not to the teacher) the responsibility for their learning. They also selected the produce which we ate. I asked God's help and the kids' help to love the kids unconditionally and to treat them as well as I treated my very best grown up friends. Thanks to their leadership, we discovered on over 60 routes between home and school in Silicon Valley traffic; it was a blast! I have worked with and often led high tech engineers, scientists, and business innovators in several "Fortune 500" companies-GE, IBM, FMC, Applied Materials, and Tandem Computers. Please enjoy our fun adventures.