5 Business Strategies that Can Strengthen Your Marriage (#5)
May 3rd, 2012 // 10:21 am @ Janine and Alane
PRINCIPLE #5: Win the client.
You’re an ad exec vying for a billion-dollar client’s new campaign. Do you show up and wing it? Of course not. You stay up late for weeks doing research, watching videos, and taking notes. Why? Because you want that client to love you. Julie Spira, a former tech exec turned business speaker and entrepreneur, suggests that couples treat each other like important clients by taking turns planning a date night each week. “I’m not talking plane tickets to Paris,” she insists. “But the idea is that your partner doesn’t have to do anything but show up.” Get tickets for a concert or visit a museum one week; try a new restaurant or play tennis the next. “You’d get fired if you put zero effort into your job,” Spira adds. In marriage, that’s called divorce — yikes.
CASE STUDY: With the exception of my sometimes announcing what kind of food I’m craving, my husband plans our dates. I’ve never given this much thought — or acknowledgement. Not this time. After checking Joe’s calendar to make sure he was free, I booked a sitter and made a dinner reservation at his favorite Italian place. (That one phone call made me realize how often we go out for my favorite, Thai.) Then, because Joe is a huge movie fan, even though I’m really not, I checked the listings and found something I thought I could stay awake through. When I told him the plan, Joe grinned. “Wow, what did I do right today?” he asked sincerely, which actually made me feel a little bit horrible. With less than 10 minutes’ effort, I’d made my husband feel cherished and appreciated — and excited to return the favor. Which leads me to the most important lesson I learned during this experiment: Yes, a successful marriage takes work, but the dividends are priceless.
“I can’t believe I spent years fighting to get things, and all I had to do was write them down!” You’d get fired if you put zero effort into your job. In marriage, that’s called divorce — yikes. The “magic formula” is to deliver four positive messages for every negative one.
Read more: Marriage As Business – Business Strategies for Marriage – Redbook
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