The Not So Secret Weapon

Procrastination may be a good thing...

It has been a while since I?published an article on LinkedIn.

I have been busy with clients, and then followed a well-deserved holiday in India.??

OK,?I confess.?I could have found the time to write the newsletters.?I simply procrastinated.?Whether or not we admit it, we all suffer from it, some more than others. Sometimes, it is a good thing too. ?I will talk more about this topic in the next edition.

So, I was in India for a few weeks. I love the country, though I left it about 40 years ago. I love to experience the rich culture, food, and spiritual values and the chance to see 2,000-year-old temples.?

These temples' sheer magnificence, design and construction are unique, with precise scientific measurements in alignment with the planets and the sun.

A great place to rejuvenate.

Back to reality....

You Are as Strong as Your Weakest Link

The pandemic, ram raids, red tape and rising costs are taking their toll on New Zealand’s businesses of all sizes. They are particularly tough, however, for family businesses because the trauma goes home with them at night.

Recovering from traumatic events, especially in a family business, can be challenging when different generations are involved because the conflict and the pain are more personal. The concern is that these events not only break businesses but have the potential to break up families too.

These “familial fault lines” often emerge in the different ways each generation thinks. Older generations approach management in a top-down, hierarchical manner, issuing commands and solutions they expect the younger members of the family business to follow without question.

On the other hand, younger generations tend to be frustrated if the management of the family firm isn’t democratic and their ideas can’t – or won’t – be heard by the older generation simply because they are younger.

I see generational gaps in every business I work with. Different generations have unique ways of operating. When things are going well, family businesses generally have a collaborative approach to management. But if a stressful or traumatic event happens, that’s when the wheels can fall off.

Covid-19 was enormously stressful for family businesses, and many have been struggling since. However, because New Zealand collectively suffered the same trauma, the solutions and workarounds for Covid-19 were relatively less painful.

Family businesses have it more challenging. In dealing with traumatic events, they find that anxiety, worry and fear exacerbate familial stress points, which can lead to a clash of ideas between the young and the old in a business – and potentially the dissolution of the company if the family isn’t careful.

If the business has a pre-existing weakness, and most have it, a challenging event will expose it. Family-owned businesses should resist the urge to buckle down and try to push through.?

Instead, now is the time for ideas, innovation and solutions to strengthen the business’s key components.

The generational gap is a reality; we cannot avoid or deny it. The risk of letting tension dominate the business is that it stunts company growth (and family relationships) at precisely the time when you need to focus on recovery.

Challenging events can be a catalyst for change and an opportunity to look at things differently. For that to happen, you need to be open to all ideas. Here is some advice for bridging the generational divide.

1. Create an open platform: Everyone becomes stressed after a traumatic event, but there’s no reason to generate more stress by shutting family members out of the recovery conversation.

Create a platform for openness, honesty, free opinion and contribution. Explore the strengths of each generation. Be open to other perspectives and remember: the desire to listen is not the same as the readiness to hear.

2. Seek help: Every family has its emotional and historical baggage, but your family business should be a neutral zone where everyone’s primary goal is to grow the business and make money. Unfortunately, this ideal may be impractical for some families, and so it may be wise to consult a third party to help move forward.

Asking a professional coach to facilitate a planning session can be a great way to ensure all opinions – from every generation – are heard, appreciated and analysed with the utmost seriousness.

3. Set up a system: Tensions can arise in family businesses when decisions are based on egos and emotions. However, systems such as The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) are always better because they take the ego out of the equation, which can be a risk for every generation.

Embracing a solid business system such as EOS is not just nice to have; it is imperative for running a healthy family business. A meaningful way to bridge the generational divide is to introduce a functional Accountability Chart.

Don’t compromise on using a system. If you don’t have a solid vision, rules, processes, discipline and accountability, any solution you come up with will quickly fall over.?

Would you like to see how strong your business is?

Here's a great tool?The Organizational Checkup??that helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can start solving your issues and get unstuck - for good.

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Until next time, all the best.....

Vijay “Rejuvenated” Nyayapati

Professional EOS Implementer?

P.S.?If you would like to know more on how EOS? can help your company, you can contact me one of these ways

1. Drop me a direct message with the words “Let's chat - EOS”.

2. Grab 10-mins of my time - Use this?link?to book a 10-min chat with me and find out how I can help.

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A Professional EOS Implementer? is an experienced business coach, facilitator, and teacher of proven EOS Tools and processes that help guide leadership teams and entrepreneurs around the world to get what they want from their businesses. They coach business leaders on how to:

???Clarify

???Simplify

???Achieve,

.. and help them get a grip on their business.