Like any decent parent, I desire better things for my kids; I want them to excel in their studies, take ownership of their faith, and yes, it’d even be nice to see both of them with a tad more athleticism than I can boast of. The problem is, I regularly slide into a rut of thinking that there is a benchmark they should be exceeding when seeing other kids do certain things.

As I read through the article Saturday night it was a nice little reminder of the important things in life and I would encourage any parent of young ones to read through. Some nice little refreshers of not only what your kids should really know but also some notes as to what a parent should know as well. Hint: it isn’t the US state capitals in alphabetical order.

A couple of my favorites:

That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.

and

They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they’re a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.

Also, for the record, my kids are the smartest kids in the entire world.

Pretty comprehensive list but this one stuck out at me for several reasons over the last few weeks.

39) Try-hard websites
People do not come to websites for an experience, they come for information. Anything that gets in their way, like slow-loading Flash graphics or counter-intuitive navigation tools, just makes them angry.

I could add any number of other things to the short list on number 39. But to keep it simple, content is king. Deliver quality content in a neatly wrapped package and your users will come back for more.

50 most annoying things about the Internet

Of course it is totally understandable to take the ideas of those that pay our bills as gospel. But we should also be reminded that those same people hired us for our expertise. If they just wanted someone to follow orders, they’d probably have hired someone else.

Rarely do I take the ideas of clients as gospel. And admittedly, there are times when I should be a little more open to an idea or two from a client if it is decent. But there’s got to be a market position where you are no longer just a pixel-pusher for a client and you become a partner in innovation with them. All too often, clients will choose ego over best practice and I can’t help but wonder how much it ultimately affects their bottom line.

My job is to make you look better. Please let me do my job.

One woman who frequently flew on Southwest, was constantly disappointed with every aspect of the company’s operation. In fact, she became known as the “Pen Pal” because after every flight she wrote in with a complaint.

She didn’t like the fact that the company didn’t assign seats; she didn’t like the absence of a first-class section; she didn’t like not having a meal in flight; she didn’t like Southwest’s boarding procedure; she didn’t like the flight attendants’ sporty uniforms and the casual atmosphere.

Her last letter, reciting a litany of complaints, momentarily stumped Southwest’s customer relations people. They bumped it up to Herb’s [Kelleher, CEO of Southwest] desk, with a note: ‘This one’s yours.’

In sixty seconds, Kelleher wrote back and said, ‘Dear Mrs. Crabapple, We will miss you. Love, Herb.’”

Nobody messes with Herb. I have never fired a client per se, but I have allowed some I don’t really want to associate with find other options.

from Positivesharing