Good governance is more than you think . . .

Bill Alexander

Last week Wharton professor and family business advisor Bill Alexander presented a workshop on how family business executives can set up a board of advisors. This post isn't a blow-by-blow account of that presentation because that would be giving away the store--obviously, the High Center would like you to enroll in this executive workshop the next time it is given.

One point Bill Alexander made is worth mentioning and merits your attention: Yes, a board of directors or advisors can provide governance and help a family business leader accomplish your strategic and tactical goals. However, governance is about more than installing a board. Good governance also includes setting up family meetings for the family shareholder group. It requires looping in non-family shareholders. It means doing the necessary work to set up or to preserve a functional family business ownership group--before any outside director you hire steps into the picture.

Never bring in a paid outside director or advisor expecting them to right your vessel. If you have a dysfunctional family ownership group, you must take steps to get that ship sea-worthy first. If you have squabbling and in-fighting within your ownership team beyond what is reasonable and customary, you need to address that dysfunction before bringing in someone to oversee the rest of your operations.

You will do your family business a world of good by establishing a regular communication for non-family shareholders through constructive, focused family meetings and you'll be laying the necessary groundwork for a board of directors or advisors to help you realize your key objectives.

Confessions of a Gen-Nexter: I’m 25… and Still Have Rules to Follow



Kate Groshong
Elizabethtown College
Class of 2008

by Kate Groshong '08,  Brand Specialist, North Star Marketing

When working along side a family member there are certain rules that one should follow. Certainly you think that at this age you shouldn’t have to follow many rules anymore, but growing older I have realized that sometimes the rules later in life are just extensions of the ones we learned at home or in the sandbox.

The following are 5 rules I follow when working with my mother . . . or at least try to follow.

1. Call your parent by his or her first name – It is hard after 25 years of saying Mom all the time, but at work I have learned that my boss is Kae. This keeps things professional and helps to remind me that I am in the confines of our business, not our home. This is also very important so that you don’t immediately show your cards. Clients or people who aren’t aware that you’re family should find out in time, not immediately. It helps to build your credibility.

2. Don’t barge in - Remember that when you’re at work your office is your personal space, just as your boss’s office is their personal space. I always knock before entering Kae’s office as a sign of respect and to make sure I am welcome at that moment. I will admit that if I am very excited about something I sometimes knock as I’m entering her office, but in that moment I am sure she wants to hear the information just as much as I want to tell her!

3. There’s time for work talk and time for everything else talk – When Kae and I spend time together in our off-time we allow certain time to talk business. Once that time frame, or topic, is completed we don’t discuss business anymore. For instance, I cook Kae dinner about once a week, so we agree that we can discuss work during prep time and eating. After that we move on to subjects that aren’t work-related.

4. You’ll have to work twice as hard – When you enter business as “the boss’s kid” you automatically have a stigma. People think you’re making more than them for half the work, when in reality you’re probably faced with more pressure and more work than others with similar work experience. Remember that you’ll have to work twice as hard to earn an equal amount of respect, and don’t be mad about it. At the end of the day your work will be better and you’ll gain trust from your colleagues. It may not be fair, but it is the way it is, and you’ll end up better for it.

5. Family comes first – Of all rules, I believe this is the most important. You can lose your home, you can lose your car, you can even lose your business and you will survive without all three. But you can’t survive without family. Remember that your family always comes first. Do your best to protect your family’s values and the traditions they hold sacred. If you do this with honor, at the end of the day everything will always work out.

 

Kae Groshong Wagner



**If you like hearing about me and my mom, you should come hear my mom! She’ll be sharing the importance of building your Family Business’s brand on May 5, 2011. We look forward to seeing you there!

Expect to see more of Kate's "Confessions of a Gen-Nexter" posts on High Ground.