THE BUSINESS OF LOVE:
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9 Best Practices to Improve the Bottom Line of Your Relationship!
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9 Best Practices to Improve the Bottom Line of Your Relationship!
Your Subtitle text
The Table of Contents
Creating the Vision for Your Relationship – Best Practice #1
• The ideal state of your relationship
• Writing your vision statements
• Joining your vision statements
• Having trouble agreeing on a common vision?
Developing Your Relationship’s Objectives – Best Practice #2
• Dimensions of a relationship
• Be S.M.A.R.T.
• Setting clear objectives
• Now what do we do with this information?
• Twenty questions to build intimacy
Funding the Partnership – Best Practice #3
• How do you feel about money?
• Family myths and money
• Dealing with attitudes about money
Branding and Marketing Your Relationship – Best Practice #4
• Who “we” are
• Marketing the public face of the relationship
• The united front
Growing the Relationship: Mergers and Acquisitions – Best Practice #5
• Looking for growth opportunities
• To merge or acquire
• The challenges of mergers
• Combining family cultures
Job Descriptions for Couples: Who Does What and Why! – Best Practice #6
• Dishes, tasks, and daily chores
• How to communicate expectations
• Elements of your work job description
• Writing your relationship job description
• An added word about outsourcing
Relationship Feedback for Partners – Best Practice #7
• Delivering the right message
• Learning to deliver a praising message
• Changing the context
• Learning to redirect
• Giving relationship feedback
• Creating a feedback form
• Formalizing the process
Compensation and Benefits – Best Practice #8
• Getting paid
• Motivators
• Your “emotional paycheck”
• Developing your “benefits package”
• The marital contract
• Do you feel the love?
Meetings and Retreats – Best Practice #9
• Let’s do lunch
• Spontaneous and purposeful meetings
• Guidelines for marital meetings
• Adding structure, lowering complexity
• Retreat and recharge!
Commencement
• The beginning of the rest of your relationship
• Romance vs. intimacy
• Free will
Afterword
• Dual-career Couples Work-Life Balance Research Highlights
Follow-up Exercises & Activities
1. The Business of Love–Questions of the Author about the Book
2. The Five Stages of Relationships Checklist
3. Verbal Intimacy Checklist
4. Relationship Effectiveness Survey
5. Relationship Communication Skills Inventory
6. Listening Skills: How to listen so others will talk
7. Responding Skills / Communication Skills
8. Elements of Relationship Teamwork
9. Stress Prevention Checklist
10. Stress Red Flags Symptom Checklist
11. Stress Recovery Checklist
12. Creative Relationship Problem Solving / Action Plan
13. Behavioral Contract
About the Book!
Describe the book in a few words. - The Business of Love is the first book to take the same “best practices” that build a successful business, and apply them to marriage. It’s a 21st century method for couples to find happiness, even true love, in their “joint ventures.”
What are your professional credentials? - I am a senior consultant, researcher, organizational development specialist, and business trainer. I am also the President of IOD, Inc., which has been providing management consulting services since 1986. My experience spans 25 years of leading comprehensive organizational development projects for hundreds of organizations nationwide in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
How are you qualified to write on both business and relationships? - Prior to my career as a management consultant, I was a full-time marriage and family counselor for many years, and achieved clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. In addition, I am married with two children and two grandchildren.
Is modern marriage in trouble? - The statistics are frightening… 50% of first marriages fail, a whopping 75% fail the second time, our rate of marriage has dropped 50% in 40 years and fewer people are getting married now than anytime in U.S. history! If there was ever a time for a radical new approach to marriage, it’s now!
How is your book different from other marriage guides? - The Business of Love truly breaks new ground. It offers a completely different way to build and sustain a successful marriage. Thinking of marriage as a business enterprise and then transferring organizational strategy to marital life can revolutionize the marriage of anyone who applies the principles of The Business of Love.
What are some of the recommendations you make in your book? - It offers a step-by-step approach to apply proven, concrete business “best practices” to marriage, such as writing vision statements and measurable relationship objectives; creating marital job descriptions; funding your marital venture; conducting relationship performance appraisals; branding and marketing your relationship; negotiating a marital compensation and benefits package; blending families through mergers and acquisitions; and conducting relationship meetings and retreats.
You also write that bad marriages take a toll at the workplace! - Researchers have established that the future looks bleak for businesses that ignore this marital crisis. Companies that disregard the work/life balance needs of their employees contribute to the stress in the employees’ marriages. The bottom line: as marital satisfaction declines, so does employee commitment to their employer.
Where have you done the majority of your couples training? - I have extensive academic teaching experience as an adjunct faculty member at several community colleges and universities where I have taught marriage and family counseling, organizational development, behavioral psychology, ethics, and bureaucratic behavior.
About the Author!
Dr. John Curtis is a senior organizational development consultant, researcher, business trainer and author. His education includes a B.A. in Education, a Masters in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Organizational Development
John is the President of IOD, Inc., which has been providing consulting services since 1986. His experience spans 25 years and involves leading and managing comprehensive organizational development projects for hundreds of organizations nationwide in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
As an experienced leader of numerous assessment and planning projects, he is able to create a positive climate conducive to productive working relationships. He brings to organizations a unique perspective on the way people process information, solve problems, plan, gain commitment, and manage change. He also helps to create systems within organizations that ensure accountability and enhanced organizational focus, direction and leadership performance.
John has academic teaching experience as an adjunct faculty member at several community colleges and universities teaching a wide variety of courses in the field of family therapy, organizational development, behavioral psychology, ethics, and bureaucratic behavior.
Prior to that, John was a full-time marriage and family counselor who achieved clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. John is married with two children and two grandchildren.
He is sought after as consultant, trainer and speaker nationwide and frequently talks on topics such as leadership development, strategic planning, quality improvement and the concepts in The Business of Love.
The book also documents the impact that the current marital crisis in having on businesses. Companies that disregard the work/life balance needs of their employees contribute to the stress in the employees’ marriages. Dr. Curtis’ research shows that as marital satisfaction declines, so does employee commitment to their employer. The Business of Love shows what you can do to be successful and prosperous in your relationship by using a totally new approach to upgrading your marriage.
What are your professional credentials? - I am a senior consultant, researcher, organizational development specialist, and business trainer. I am also the President of IOD, Inc., which has been providing management consulting services since 1986. My experience spans 25 years of leading comprehensive organizational development projects for hundreds of organizations nationwide in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
How are you qualified to write on both business and relationships? - Prior to my career as a management consultant, I was a full-time marriage and family counselor for many years, and achieved clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. In addition, I am married with two children and two grandchildren.
Is modern marriage in trouble? - The statistics are frightening… 50% of first marriages fail, a whopping 75% fail the second time, our rate of marriage has dropped 50% in 40 years and fewer people are getting married now than anytime in U.S. history! If there was ever a time for a radical new approach to marriage, it’s now!
How is your book different from other marriage guides? - The Business of Love truly breaks new ground. It offers a completely different way to build and sustain a successful marriage. Thinking of marriage as a business enterprise and then transferring organizational strategy to marital life can revolutionize the marriage of anyone who applies the principles of The Business of Love.
What are some of the recommendations you make in your book? - It offers a step-by-step approach to apply proven, concrete business “best practices” to marriage, such as writing vision statements and measurable relationship objectives; creating marital job descriptions; funding your marital venture; conducting relationship performance appraisals; branding and marketing your relationship; negotiating a marital compensation and benefits package; blending families through mergers and acquisitions; and conducting relationship meetings and retreats.
You also write that bad marriages take a toll at the workplace! - Researchers have established that the future looks bleak for businesses that ignore this marital crisis. Companies that disregard the work/life balance needs of their employees contribute to the stress in the employees’ marriages. The bottom line: as marital satisfaction declines, so does employee commitment to their employer.
Where have you done the majority of your couples training? - I have extensive academic teaching experience as an adjunct faculty member at several community colleges and universities where I have taught marriage and family counseling, organizational development, behavioral psychology, ethics, and bureaucratic behavior.
About the Author!
Dr. John Curtis is a senior organizational development consultant, researcher, business trainer and author. His education includes a B.A. in Education, a Masters in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Organizational Development
John is the President of IOD, Inc., which has been providing consulting services since 1986. His experience spans 25 years and involves leading and managing comprehensive organizational development projects for hundreds of organizations nationwide in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
As an experienced leader of numerous assessment and planning projects, he is able to create a positive climate conducive to productive working relationships. He brings to organizations a unique perspective on the way people process information, solve problems, plan, gain commitment, and manage change. He also helps to create systems within organizations that ensure accountability and enhanced organizational focus, direction and leadership performance.
John has academic teaching experience as an adjunct faculty member at several community colleges and universities teaching a wide variety of courses in the field of family therapy, organizational development, behavioral psychology, ethics, and bureaucratic behavior.
Prior to that, John was a full-time marriage and family counselor who achieved clinical membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. John is married with two children and two grandchildren.
He is sought after as consultant, trainer and speaker nationwide and frequently talks on topics such as leadership development, strategic planning, quality improvement and the concepts in The Business of Love.
The book also documents the impact that the current marital crisis in having on businesses. Companies that disregard the work/life balance needs of their employees contribute to the stress in the employees’ marriages. Dr. Curtis’ research shows that as marital satisfaction declines, so does employee commitment to their employer. The Business of Love shows what you can do to be successful and prosperous in your relationship by using a totally new approach to upgrading your marriage.
