Growing the Dream in a Family Business
by Daniel S. Hess, ACSW, dhess@lmaconsulting.cc
The establishment and growth of a family business probably means that someone had a dream for that business. To have a dream is to imagine possibilities that are connected to current realities but go beyond the present to what is possible in the future. A dream lends focus, generates excitement and brings vitality to a business.
The dream for a family business begins in the head of one person, or perhaps is shared by the dreamer and his or her mate. It does not spring into reality fully defined, but grows in clarify over time, in response to experience, learning, and opportunity. At the outset, the dream is likely to focus mostly on the products and services of the company, its customers, its niche in the community and in the marketplace. It is predictable that if a next generation comes along, the dream will evolve to include ideas of how the children will become involved and carry the business into the future.
There will be a great deal of variation among family businesses in how the dream is handled. Some will discuss it openly; others will use it to guide their behavior, but rarely if ever put the dream into words. As a second generation moves into active participation in the family business, each brings within them the seeds of their own life dream. For some among the second generation, there may be a strong response to the dreams of their parents, either strongly aligning or strongly resisting the parent's dream. Others may not have much of an obvious outward response.
The family and the family business are now confronted with the challenge of incorporating new dreams into the dream which has sustained the enterprise thus far. The founder of the dream and the business may face the prospect of a son or daughter who has a dream for a regional or national market, rather than being a locally known and trusted enterprise. Or the next generation might value a more personally flexible lifestyle, rather than the highly demanding pattern observed in the parents as they built the dream. Or the son or daughter, whom the founder dreamed would be the successor in leading the business, may have interests totally outside the business or lack the characteristics to become the next leader.
Daniel S. Hess, ACSW, Director of LMA's Family Business Services, is a Senior Consultant with LMA Consulting Group. Dan has extensive experience in understanding human behavior at all levels and works with family businesses of all sizes to improve their performance in the workplace and within their family environment.
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