(Time to read this Blog is about 4 minutes)
Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:
- My Biz Quote of the week:
“Without ‘Outcomes-based Job Descriptions’, you don’t really know who you’re looking for…they don’t know what’s really expected of them…and you don’t have an effective way of measuring their performance.” Note: For an example of an ‘Outcomes-based Job Description’, simply email me at donald@donaldcooper.com and I’ll send you one.
…Donald Cooper. - Quick Biz Tip:
Promote from within…but do it properly.
Promoting from within is good for your business in many ways. It creates careers, not just jobs and the person being promoted already knows the business and the culture.
But, you can’t promote from within if you don’t hire promotable top-performers in the first place. Promoting mediocre people who are not wired and trained to take on the new responsibility will kill your business.
One of the biggest ‘promote from within’ mistakes is promoting a great ‘doer of things’ to be a manager of the people who do those things. Doing and managing are two very different skill sets. Without a ton of coaching and support, these promotions often fail.
- Surprising Fact: A new Study of the European destinations with the highest rates of tourism robbery, including pick-pocketing, grab-and-run, car theft and theft from hotels or rented accommodation, named the United Kingdom as Europe’s most dangerous destination for tourists. Next on the list is France. Surprisingly, Denmark is in 3rd According to the study, Latvia is the safest European destination.
- Canada’s record low birth rate: Canada’s birth rate has hit a record low of 1.25 children per woman. Taiwan has the world’s lowest birth rate at .72 children per woman, barely beating out Korea at .73.
Chad and Somalia are tied for the highest birth rate at 6 children per woman.
- Fun Fact: 80% of the total cost of a commercial airliner is made up by just its engines. About 20 years ago, an airplane’s engines made up only 20-30% of the aircraft’s total cost.
- AI Update:
- ‘Revoice’, an AI equipped device, gives stroke patients their voice back. This wearable device gives patients the ability to communicate naturally and fluently following a stroke, without the need for invasive brain implants.
- Manulife is now using AI to analyze life insurance applications.
Now, to this week’s important topic:
Why so many partnerships and family businesses struggle or fail:
When partnerships and family businesses do work, it’s magical. Partners complement each other, support each other and cover off for each other. That’s not ‘compliment’ each other as in, “That’s a lovely jacket you’re wearing today, Bob.” but rather they ‘complement’ each other in that their diverse skills, experience, perspectives and personalities work well together to create a stronger, more successful business.
But when partnerships or family businesses don’t work, it’s a nightmare. Much of my Coaching work is in figuring out what’s not working in these dysfunctional businesses…and how to fix it.
So, here’s what I’ve discovered. For any partnership or family business to work, there are six key requirements that must be aligned. They are:
1. A shared Vision for the future of the business,
2. Shared values for the business, and for their lives,
3. A shared commitment to the business,
4. Confidence in each other’s competence,
5. Rapport with each other’s personality and a commitment to work together.
6. The ability to have ‘respectful debates’ & ‘courageous conversations’among partners or family members…and at all levels in the business.
When a partnership or family business is NOT working, it’s always because of the absence of one or more of these six key factors. There’s constant turmoil, employees are forced to take sides, or take ‘I don’t give a dam’ pills. The best people often leave, and it’s a mess.
There’s also a seventh key factor that can, and often does, destroy a partnership or family business. That’s when, in spite of the competence and commitment of the younger generation, the older generation simply won’t give up control because they have nothing else to do with their lives. The business is their ‘neat fort’ where they feel safe, comfortable and in control…and they won’t let go.
When partners or family members can’t agree, one of these three scenarios usually develops:
Scenario #1: Because the partners or family members can’t agree on what should be done, or how to move the business forward, they do nothing. The business struggles, loses momentum and grinds to a halt. The staff becomes disengaged, the good ones leave and, eventually, it all ends badly.
Scenario #2: Because the partners or family members can’t agree on what to do, they compromise and go with a ‘grey’, boring, watered-down course of action. In a world where we need to be extraordinary, focused and clear in our market positioning and operational decision making, compromise is often deadly.
Going back to my days as a retailer of ladies’ fashion, let’s say we decided to put chairs throughout the store for husbands and boyfriends, who would rather relax than shop in a ladies clothing store. And let’s say that I wanted to be amazing by buying 8 electric, reclining massage chairs, but my partner protested, “Chairs are a fine idea, but over my dead body will we spend money on fancy massage chairs.” So, we compromise and bring a couple of old bean bag chairs from home and stick them in the corner. There goes ‘amazing’ right out the window. “Yes”, compromise can be deadly.
Scenario #3: The third scenario is what I call the alternating ‘it’s my turn plan’. Here’s how this one works. Because we can’t agree on what to do, we each take turns getting our way. “We did it your way last time, so now it’s my turn.” It isn’t about what’s right, amazing or best for the business. It’s about whose ‘turn’ it is to get their way.
And, the universe being as perverse as it is, we’ll likely end up being wrong most of the time …but it doesn’t matter, “It’s my turn.”
If you’ve been involved in a partnership or family business, you know I’m right about these 3 scenarios, because you’ve probably seen them, or lived through them, many times. If partners can’t work well together and are constantly falling into one of these three deadly scenarios, they need to face reality that the partnership isn’t working, the business is going down the tubes and it’s time to deal with it by writing up the most civilized ‘divorce’ agreement possible…and go their separate ways.
Bonus Tip: By the way, exactly the same dynamic happens with couples and families. If they can’t agree on where to live, what furniture to buy, what color to paint the walls, or how to raise the kids, they either do nothing, they compromise on some boring, watered-down solution, or they go on the “It’s my turn to get my way.” plan. Don’t let this happen to your business or your life!
That’s it for this week…
Live brilliantly and be kind to each other!
Donald Cooper
Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability. He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.
