The big decision

There’s a scene in the movie All the Money in the World where John Paul Getty announces that he has just fired one of his executives.

He turns to his son: “I’m making you executive vice president in charge of European Operations.”

His son: “What? All I know about oil is…regular or premium.”

Getty: “You wanted a job. I’m giving it to you. Sink or swim.”

As you might have guessed, the son didn’t turn out to be a very good executive.

The very first step towards becoming a prosperous family business is to answer the question: will you be a family-first business or a business-first family?

Problems that spring from having a family-first business

While not always as egregious as the movie example, putting unqualified people into roles just because they are family is one of many signs that you have a family-first business instead of a business-first family. Here are 6 more:

1. Lack of alignment. No shared purpose or unifying vision because decisions are being made in the best interest of the family instead of the company.
2. Weak leadership. Unqualified people are in senior roles, or the deceased founder is still managing the company “from the grave”
3. High turnover. Losing good people because there’s a “ceiling to promotion” for non-family members.
4. Lack of trust and accountability. Political structures or cliques along family branches.
5. Poor decision making. Decision-making needs to be consensual or democratic, causing yourself and others to be stuck in circular conversations or caught in a logjam where no decision is made.
6. Resistance to outside perspective. An echo chamber has been created by family members with poor governance, and boards comprised entirely of family members and friends.

The first step towards building a prosperous family business is to answer the question:

Are you going to be a family-first business or a business-first family?

The question is simple, but the impact is far-reaching.

Either answer is fine.

Many businesses choose to be family-first and can be successful as family-supporting lifestyle businesses. These businesses tend to have a limited lifespan and a ceiling on growth.

However, if you’d like to grow and increase your impact, the first step to Prosperity is to decide to become a business-first family.

If you’d like to learn more, join me for my next webinar on April 14. Details and registration here: the Big Decision webinar