The seminar conducted by Amy Schuman of the Family Business Consulting Group on Establishing Core Values in the Family Business provided our membership with many new insights. Though many times Business Families think Values are a soft activity, Amy stated many times families find this some of the hardest work. Quoting Jack Welch, “soft values deliver hard results”.
The results of Business Families understanding their values can be seen in the performance of individuals, performance of the business, and in personal satisfaction. As Business Families grow and expand from the Founder to Siblings to Cousins and as personal values may begin to diverge it is important to respect the differences and find the sameness to continue stewarding the business. By exploring and comparing the Value statements of several large well-known family owned businesses such as Enterprise Car Rental, S.C. Johnson Company, and The Biltmore Estate Company we were able to see how family values influence the business values. This is not to just copy what another family has discerned but rather to gain understanding.
This seminar was packed full of challenges for Business Families.
Three key take-aways for the participants were:
1. Begin the discussions to discern what the values are that motivate, guide, and impact your family and business. Every Business Family has values, you need to discern them to understand them.
2. WRITE THEM DOWN. The final version will not occur in the first setting and will most likely be an iterative process that will also include word-smithing.
3. Following the old adage “What gets measured, gets done”, develop an audit or measurement to determine if you, your family, and your business are living and practicing your values.
This very thought provoking seminar forced Business Families to look deep inside their own famlies to begin asking the difficult questions.
The seminar can be viewed by members of The Network of Family Businesses in the archive section of the website.
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