Friday, February 25, 2011

Confessions of a Gen-Nexter: Being the Boss's Kid

Kate Groshong, class of 2008
by Kate Groshong, Brand Specialist, North Star Marketing

Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by business owners and high-ranking corporate executives. Fortunately I didn’t have to call them sir or ma’am but rather mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and so on. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family definitely has its advantages, but also presents challenges to the next generation that the “kids” typically don’t think they have to deal with. The first big question being “What do I do?”

I followed in my uncle’s footsteps by attending Elizabethtown College and thrived in their Business Department. Majoring in Business Administration and concentrating in Marketing and Entrepreneurship was a perfect fit for me, and I was able to learn about industries outside those that my family conducted business in, and markets outside the tri-state area where my mother and father primarily held business deals.

After graduation I entered a job market that was extremely less than ideal and settled for a sales job, for which I had minimal interest, in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Why didn’t I just work for mom or dad, you ask? I wasn’t allowed. One of the greatest things my parents did for me was not provide me with a job opening.

After toughing out the financial sales industry for 14 months I decided it was time to move on. My mother had asked me a few times to consider joining her marketing company, as they were restructuring and she had a need for my expertise. After declining on two different occasions I took a leap of faith and accepted the third. I didn’t jump at the first, or even second, opportunity because I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on the responsibilities of joining a family member in business.

Working with family takes a certain, or different, kind of love and patience. It takes the ability to be able to call mom “Kae” during the hours of 8 and 6 and then smoothly transitioning to “Momma” in our off hours. It takes restraint to keep personal and family situations outside our building parameters and keep work issues away from family lunches and dinners. It also takes a tougher and thicker skin to understand why colleagues would be wary of your entrance and somewhat cynical about your abilities.

Being the “boss’s kid” has its challenges for sure, but there is no one I would rather call report to every day than my mom.

Kate Groshong is a 2008 alumna of Elizabethtown College. Expect to see more of Kate's "Confessions of a Gen-Nexter" posts on High Ground.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Rejoice, family businesses. Rejoice!

by Gale Martin, Director of Marketing and Member Relations, S. Dale High Center for Family Business

I previously reported on reading the book Managing for the Long Run just as the Generation Next affinity group at the S. Dale High Center began a study of it lasting several months. You can read that post here.

Recently we discussed the final chapter of the book, in which authors Danny Miller and Isabell Le Breton-Miller make the following recommendation (and I quote):

"So if you are a manager of a private or family business, rejoice! You may have at your disposal levers of competitive advantage that most of your rivals will find it hard to access (p. 209)."
These levers were discussed in detail with industry examples in the preceding 208 pages but are also reviewed in the concluding chapter, some of which include the following:

Governance

Executives at family businesses act like stewards instead of careerists. (Substitute opportunist for careerist).  Stewards protect the long-run interests of the company and all its stakeholders as compared to short-sighted executives who put short-term gain, such as quarterly profits ahead of the communities in which they operate, devasting communities and shaking people's faith in executives and corporations.

A meaningful mission

Family business leaders rally their firms around a mission with genuine scope that
can remain relevant for decades. Missions with substance also inspire commitment, such as Hallmark's commitment to social harmony and S. E. Johnson's commitment to add real value to useful consumer products.
 

The capability to deliver more value

The authors contend that a long-term focus allows family business leaders to concentrate their attention on what needs to be done to satisfy both mission and the market. Family businesses can allocated more "skewed, intensive, and long-term resources" than non-family rivals can to bootstrap capabilities and leverage them. An important outcome of focus, say the authors, is that family firms can deliver more value that may be impossible for competitors to imitate.

The book concludes with a hit-list of recommendations tailored for family businesses worth reiterating, many of which have implications for solid and high-performing human resources:
  • Nurture the tribe or take care of talented employees whose values jibe with the mission
  • Understaff--this reduces the need to layoff people while giving others larger roles
  • Design jobs with scope--and provide broader job descriptions to facilitate personnel development
  • Develop good relationships with the community to reinforce your image of responsible citizenship
In short, this book is chock full of best practices and research-based recommendations to help long-term leaders like family business executives succeed. It also contains a little blatant cheerleading.

Who in this business climate doesn't need both good counsel and the occasional pat on the back?

Monday, February 7, 2011

Guest post: “The first rule of holes: When you're in one, stop digging."

by Phil Clemens, Chairman and CEO of the Clemens Family Corporation


On Ground Hog Day, Punxsutawney Phil came out of his hole to predict if spring is just around the corner of if winter will still have its grip on us. For groundhogs, a hole in the ground is their home; for leaders a hole takes on a totally different meaning.

If you’re in a hole in generally means that you stuck and can’t move either forward or backward. Sometimes we get into holes that have been dug by others; other holes are ones that we have dug ourselves and then slip into them – or we have spun our tires and created a hole. Either way – you are stuck.

“The first rule of holes: When you're in one, stop digging."
--Molly Ivans 

What is the natural thing to do when you’re in a hole? Start digging yourself out. However, Molly Ivans says we need to stop digging. Why? Making the hole either bigger or deeper does not enhance your chance of getting out – in fact it just makes it worse. What do you need? Help from someone who is willing to come along side of you to either push or pull you out. Rarely can you get out of a hole without help.

Many leaders are often too proud to ask for help and sometimes even too proud to accept help if it is offered. Leaders solve problems – even getting out of a hole. They keep digging thinking that they are the only one that can solve any problem. Pride blinds them from seeing what they really need – HELP. Great leaders know when they need help and don’t mind asking and accepting help. Asking and accepting help is a sign of strength; not weakness.

Are you stuck in a hole today? Are you willing to get and accept help or are you determined to “do it myself”? Or if you see someone else is stuck, do you laugh at them and continue on your merry way – because it’s not your job to help others.

Great leaders know when someone else is stuck (they are constantly looking out for others) and are willing to help get that person back on the path – even if it isn’t their job or if it changes their plans. They are willing to give of their time and resources to help others. It is just the right thing to do.

Friday, February 4, 2011

'Hurrah for spectrum of leadership transition issues addressed!'

Phil Clemens, Tony Martin, Matt Diller, and Dana Chryst
Our Leadership Transition panel shared a range of experiences and perspectives during our breakfast seminar on January 20.   "Hurrah for spectrum of issue provided," said one evaluator. "This provided a variety of 'real thoughts' to identify with and test," another said.

During the course of the two-and-a-half hour presentation, many stories and anecdotes were shared--and as another commenter said, no two stories were the same. Here are just four observances of our panelists:


Tony Martin
Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc.
 "[When you work in family business], there will always by those who feel that family members got the job because they have the right last name. I feel I must work harder and better because of my last name."

--Tony Martin


Dana Chryst
The Jay Group



"Relative to family members working in the business, the key is treating everyone consistently. If a family member has a performance issue, they should be treated the same as anyone else."

--Dana Chryst


Matt Diller
Pre-cast Concrete Systems




"How do you get young people to want to be in the business and be empowered? My parents never told me to come back. I knew they wanted me to, but they allowed me freedom to go away. Don't force your children into the family business."

--Matt Diller


Phil Clemens
Hatfield Quality Meats



"What do you want your legacy to be? If you don't let the next generation take over and make this a legacy business, it dies with you."

--Phil Clemens




The complete presentation will be available on The Network of Family Business website soon. 


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