Secrets for Success: Tips for Dual-Career Families

Season 4, Episode 6

In this episode, Ilene Gordon, former CEO & Chairman of Ingredion, and her husband, Bram Bluestein, former management consultant, share their advice and successful strategies for dual-career families. Juggling family, relationships and work responsibilities is not an easy task, but over the course of their 40+ years of marriage, Ilene and Bram learned how to balance their robust careers while employing creative methods to stay connected and engaged as a family. The priorities and insights that they share in this episode expand upon concepts from their recent book, Doubling Down: The Secret Sauce for Dual-Career Families.

Discussion Questions

We encourage you to connect with your peer board, team or colleagues to discuss the podcast. Please use the following questions to guide your conversation:

  1. What are your non-negotiables around family and work?
  2. What trade-offs have you made in order to maintain those non-negotiables?
  3. Do you have rituals — like Ilene’s and Bram’s Sunday-night dinners — that you have put in place to help you stay organized as a family?
  4. How do you or other leaders in your organization model work-life balance?

HIGHLIGHTS:

First Encounters: 5:38
Issues Facing Dual-Career Couples: 8:03
Finding Your Non-Negotiables: 12:06
Modeling the Behavior as Leaders: 16:30
Making Inevitable Trade-Offs: 21:15
Being Inventive to Make it All Work: 23:19