Separation Family from Family Business

by Jeffrey J. Klunk, jklunk@lmaconsulting.cc

 

In very small businesses a frequent problem is that family/marriage issues get confused with business issues. It can be helpful to hold separate meetings with separate agendas. A family meeting could be used to help the various family members determine what they want to get out of the business. Examples of this could be profits (how much), satisfaction, an opportunity for the kids to take over some day, early retirement, a chance to control one's own destiny, the ability to do a special kind of work.

 

After that is clarified those members of the family who actually share in the ownership of the company could have a meeting to set a strategic plan for the business. Part of a strategic plan calls for the definition and establishment of management and selection of management personnel as well as establishing the criteria by which these managers are evaluated.

 

Then the management group meets to determine how to manage the business. In a typical family business there are certain people who fill a variety of roles. They may be in more than one meeting. The most important element of this process is to keep the agenda and the focus of discussion on the appropriate level of hierarchy.

 

This process has several advantages:

 

1. It allows families to leave work at the office and enjoy their personal lives together with each other.
2. It allows for much more clear and effective goal setting and planning.
3. It clarifies various family members' roles better to help minimize the degree to which family problems develop in the business.
4. It makes it much clearer as to how to include non-family members in the running of the company by clarifying more each person's degree of influence and responsibility.
5. It allows for more objective performance evaluations between family and non-family members.

It's very important to realize that families and businesses each need their separate plans; and there will be some overlap and some discrepancies in those plans. When dealing with family issues, deal with them as a family, respecting the hierarchy of the parents as major decision makers. When dealing with business issues, deal with them through the hierarchy of the business. In that way, both business and family structures will be respected and preserved.

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Jeff Klunk, President of LMA Systems ..   

    

        

    

        

    

        

    

     

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