The first lessons you learn in life come from your parents. In honor of Mothers’ Day, here are the lessons I learned from my mother in an unusual area – business.

 

 

 

 

Read the article and answer the questions below:

https://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/critical-business-lessons-i-learned-from-my-mother.html

 

1. What profession did Nancy Daum have?

2. What personal qualities helped her develop an excellent reputation?

3. Why does the author mention the saying about teaching someone to fish?

4. What does the author mean by “No cornerstone went unturned”?

5. How did Nancy manage client relationships before modern technology?

6. Why was contact management especially important in real estate?

7. What was challenging about the role of Relocation Director?

8. What skill helped Nancy succeed with demanding clients?

9. How does the author try to understand clients in his own career?

10. What lesson did Grandma Ethel teach about success and money?

 

Glossary

 

• par excellence – being the best of a kind
• diligence  – careful and consistent hard work; putting a lot of effort into doing something properly
• meticulous – extremely careful and precise about details
• conscientious – responsible, careful, and hardworking; wanting to do things well
• fastidiousness – the quality of being very attentive to detail and difficult to satisfy because standards are high
• blunder – a careless or embarrassing mistake
• outreach – an effort to bring services or information to people where they live or spend time

 

 

Practice makes perfect

Read the article and decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE.

Correct the false ones.

 

https://www.inc.com/laura-garnett/truth-about-working-mother-moms.html

 

1. Stacey Gordon believes motherhood is exactly the same for every woman.

2. Dana Galin had children at a relatively young age

3. Kate Northrup Watts expected to continue loving her work after becoming a mother.

4. Taryn Sullivan originally thought she would stay at home with her children.

5. Several women mention flexibility as an important workplace support.

6. Dana Galin believes perfect balance between work and family is realistic.

7. Sullivan says motherhood made her care less about other people.

8. The article suggests that workplace culture is sometimes different from company values.

 

 

Key: 1F; 2F; 3F; 4T; 5T; 6F; 7F; 8T

Discuss

 

• What is one piece of advice from your mother (or another mother figure) that you still remember?
• The author says his mother taught him important business skills. Can family members be better teachers than schools or employers? Why?
• Do you think children naturally copy their parents’ work habits?
• Have you ever learned a professional or practical skill from a parent or grandparent?
• Do working mothers face more pressure than working fathers? Why or why not?
• Why do many mothers feel judged about their parenting choices?
• What kinds of support should companies offer parents?
• Can motherhood make someone a better leader or employee?
• If you could thank your mother for one thing, what would it be?

 

Watch and Revise!

 

Mothers’ Day Special

Lessons from Mom for Life and Business

 

 

 

https://www.cloud.worldwideschool.pl/index.php/s/ddoMBBxgkdjBKjQ

 

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