Articles
When Business Conflict Becomes Family Conflict
"Family life! The United Nations is child’s play compared to the tugs and splits and need to understand and forgive in any family." – Mary Sarton In a recent article I talked about how the strengths and weaknesses of individual family members affect the overall success of the business. The converse is also true: the changing fortunes of the business can also affect the family. There’s no question that building a successful business can bring family members closer together and strengthen family bonds. It is equally true that problems in the business can create discord in the family. I recently worked [...]
What’s Your Excuse?
"No one ever excused his way to success." – Dave Del Dotto It’s no secret that I’m a proponent of strategic planning. If you’ve read any of my articles over the years, you know that I believe every business – especially closely held businesses – should implement a strategic plan to align the organization around key objectives and create accountability for results. When I meet with prospective clients, one of the things I ask is whether or not they have a strategic plan in place. Most do not. I’ve heard just about every excuse there is for failure to implement a [...]
The Bright Sides of Family Businesses
"All good businesses are personal. The best businesses are very personal." – Mark Cuban Last month’s article on the darker sides of managing a family business generated a lot of response. Numerous owners of family businesses gave me feedback about the accuracy of my experiences. Given that 80-90% of businesses in the United States are family owned, I’m not surprised that many of you are interested in the challenges and opportunities these companies offer. So it seems only fair to focus this month on the many positives of managing and working for a family business. Here are just a few: Shared values: [...]
The Darker Sides of Family Businesses
"Despite having to contend with internal family tensions on top of the usual work stresses family businesses still outperform non-family businesses. At the end of the day it’s not what they succeed at but the way they succeed that makes the difference." – Jane Hilburt-Davis Thus consultants to family firms, who work with the owners and the family as well as the business, must be prepared to help their clients work through the emotions they experience as they make changes to improve the health of both their families and their businesses. Professionals who consult to the business only, and not [...]
A Simple Formula for Business Success
"In business you get what you want by giving other people what they want." – Alice MacDougall Are you among the business leaders who believe the economy is starting to pick up? Or do you foresee another year or two of tough going for your business? Regardless of where you stand on the subject, chances are you’re at least thinking about how economic recovery will affect your business. I hope you’re giving serious thought to preparing now for the better market conditions to come. No, that wasn’t a typo. You need to prepare your business for the rebounding economy. Chances [...]
Clarity: A Key Driver of Business Success
"Leadership is creating a future for your organization." – Gordon Sullivan One of the most common problems I see among closely held businesses (actually most businesses) is a lack of clarity: By clarity, I mean the following: 1. Vision: Vision defines what your organization will look like and be doing in three years or so. You don’t have get fancy here, simply describe what you are building, what your revenues will be and what kind of customers you will be serving. Without a clear vision that everyone understands and shares, the organization’s work will be sloppy and disorganized. 2. Mission: [...]