The most successful families are run like mini companies. An expert shares the best exercise to help parents get started.

The following is an excerpt from "The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years" by Emily Oster.

In a business‑school class in negotiations, a common topic is the "Theory of Anchoring." Basically, the opening bid in a negotiation "anchors" the price. 

By the same token, collective decisions can be thrown off by having one person publicly state their views first. If we are trying to decide, as a firm, how much to bid for a company, and the first person to speak suggests $20 million, I may be embarrassed to say I thought it was worth only $2 million.

But knowing that we disagree is valuable! One approach to learning that is to ask people to write down their valuations privately and then share them simultaneously.

其他媒体报道链接：

Insider: The most successful families are run like mini companies. An expert shares the best exercise to help parents get started.

The Atlantic: How to Avoid the Worst Parenting Mistake

NPR: Get Your Family Running More Smoothly With Tricks From Running Small Businesses