Business Is Business
Business is Business, Reality Checks for Family-Owned Companies, by Kathy Kolbe and Amy Bruske, Greenleaf Press 2017
No doubt you've encountered the bloody, sometimes terminal ruckus that often surrounds a family business - conflicting agendas, strange bookkeeping habits, daily unrest over priorities and favorites, and did we mention money? Whatever human frailties we ordinary beings encounter daily, they can be magnified by inherited genes.
But it doesn't have to be that way, say authors Kolbe and Bruske in their savvy guide about what to do, and most especially what not to do, to run a successful, profitable and lasting family business. Let's begin with boundaries, since it's always easier to remember what not to do, versus memorizing the all-important trust builders and unifiers:
1. Don't bring family member work relationships home. Even if you are the boss at work, do not tell fellow family members:
"We need you to come back rested from your vacation, so don't do too much partying." (!)
"Here's some reading it would be good for you to do over the weekend."
"I don't want you representing us until you lose weight."
"The places you are going on dates are certainly not places where I'd like our clients to run into you." (Like I should expect to see our number one client at Joe's Bar and Grill?")
"You need to host the next office party at your house."
"Stop spending so much time watching sports so you'll have more time to keep up with finance issues."
Does it ever end?
2. Anticipate sibling rivalries. There is a false assumption that siblings know each other well enough to know how to work well together. Knowing a sister's hobbies does not tell you how she will handle a client meeting. Sometimes sibling rivalries are caused by natural conflicts, but often they are the results of false expectations based on gender or age bias. Its not unlike the boundaries for spouses; siblings are responsible for keeping their personal baggage out of the workplace. "Staying in your lane" helps make this possible.
3. Protect access to the corporate secrets. Better to err on the side of paranoia about keeping business secrets. Don't suffer sleepless nights wondering why you let your child travel with the wrong friend. Only the most reliable employees - who have the most to lose if the secret formula leaks out - should have any control over access to the hiding places.
Co-author Kolbe offers great insight into the "4 Action Modes" that drive problem-solving behavior among family and non-family members:
1. Fact-finder - The instinctive way we gather and share information, ranges from gathering detailed information and documenting strategies to simplifying and clarifying options.
2. Follow Thru - The instinctive way we organize. Behavior ranges from being systematic and structured to being adaptable and flexible.
3. Quick Start - The instinctive way we deal with risk and uncertainty. Ranges from driving change and innovation, to stabilizing and preventing chaos.
4. Implementor: The instinctive way we handle space and tangibles. Behavior ranges from making things more concrete by building solutions, to being more abstract by imagining a solution.
How much pain and confusion can we avoid in family businesses by identifying these different management and operating styles?
Patricia E. Moody
FORTUNE magazine "Pioneering Woman in Mfg"
IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert
A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, https://sites.google.com/site/blueheronjournal/, tricia@patriciaemoody.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com, pemoody@aol.com
978 526-7348 cell 978 578-5200
