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There's a story that during the cold
war, a reporter visiting Prague asked one of the locals whether
his compatriots regarded the Russians as friends or brothers.
"Oh, brothers, no question of it" was
the reply.
And why was that?
"You choose your friends".
Many owner managed businesses are started
by someone with ideas, talent and commitment. The business
soo becomes their obsession - and for any enterprise to succeed
it requires the level of involvement that only obsession can
bring.
As the years pass the question of succession
arises - 'after me, what?' and many founders want to bring
in members of their family - usually their spouse and children
- so that they can contribute and later, perhaps, take over.
And so a family business is born.
Let's try to define this term. There
are so many patterns of ownership and influence within business
that to tie down the requirements in terms of shares controlled
or percentage ownership of a partnership would be difficult
So perhaps the best we can do is to say that a family business
is one where a family strongly influences its management.
On this definition it has been estimated
that more than three quarters of British enterprises are family
business and that they employ more than half of all workers
in the country.
The scale of these numbers is such that
it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of family
businesses yet a quick scan of the shelves in the business
section of your local bookshop will reveal that the joys and
frustrations of them have been little studied.
The most fierce disputes that we have
encountered within businesses have involved family issues.
Mixing the emotional traumas of marriage disputes, sibling
rivalries and 'cousin' resentment into the stresses of any
business can become very destructive.
On the other hand, family businesses
can bring a strong sense of commitment and common purpose
to all of the employees (family members or not) and the resulting
stability and sense of direction can bring great long-term
benefits.
In this series, we will consider some
of the specific issues that can lead to problems and look
at some of the ways they can be managed to produce a positive
outcome for all concerned.
Go to
part two
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