Adolf Kaure

Author and educator Joshua Mario recently launched his book titled ‘The art of family strategy: Building intentional, resilient, and purpose-driven families’, in Windhoek.

The book has drawn a direct parallel between the tools used in business and public management and the way families can be structured and led.

According to Mario, most family challenges are not the result of failure but of the absence of strategy.

Just as organisations define vision, mission and values to guide their operations, families too deserve the same intentional structure.

The concept was born from Mario’s own lived experience. Growing up, he would wake early each morning, bath first, and then take care of his siblings before the day began, a disciplined act of family leadership that planted the seeds of the philosophy now captured in his book.

His personal journey, combined with over 16 years of experience in the industry and academia, gave him a unique advantage, which he uses to reframe family life as a strategic journey.

Now a husband and a father of three, the Rundu-born author wrote several study guides in project management, public management, and entrepreneurship for various institutions of higher learning in Namibia prior to the publication of the book.

‘The art of family strategy’ marked his first published major work intended for a broad public audience, applying his professional expertise to the intimate dynamics of family life.

The book received a foreword from Namibia’s First Gentleman, Epaphras Denga Ndaitwah, highlighting the universal importance of intentional family leadership across all walks of life, from the home to the highest offices in the country.

Speaking on behalf of Ndaitwah, gender equality and child welfare ministry’s executive director Lydia Indombo commended the author, citing the remarkable way the book was written.

“He has taken the system that governs our institutions and took the vision, mission, values, governance, strategy and placed them where they have always belonged, inside the home.

He reminds us that the chaos many families experience is not a character flaw. It is, as he writes, the absence of strategy. And that is something we can fix.

I think about what it means to lead a family with intention. I think about the Namibia we are building, a nation still young, still finding its full stride thirty-six years after independence.

I am convinced that the strength of the nation will never be found only in our policies or our parliaments. It will be found in our homes, in parents who lead with clarity, in children who are raised with purpose, and in families that know where they are going and why,” said Indombo on behalf of the First Gentleman.

The book covered themes of governance and leadership in the home, building strong foundations through shared values and purpose, navigating challenges strategically, and raising the next generation for responsible leadership.

It also equips newly married couples, parents with young children, those raising teenagers, and families rebuilding after setbacks.

Mario reflected on the journey that led to the book, saying that SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis by families.

“I took the framework of a business strategy and tried to align this with a household system. The gap lies in intention. Do you have the intention to build your family as you build in the corporate world? My mother had a strategy with our family, as much as she passed on, her plans filtered through me, and I wanted to revive and rekindle. 

Life was not easy for us as siblings, but I saw the strategy to be lived through us as siblings.”

Under the Foundation of Family Strategy, Mario donated N$15,000 to the Office of the First Gentleman towards projects that benefit young boys and projects that align with its objectives.

– akaure@nepc.com.na