This past weekend I had a new
job –CBO (“Chief Babysitting Officer”) for our two little granddaughters. After raising two boys, I was
thinking I would have to switch gears to make sure I had some activities
planned that would appeal to little girls. How did I do?
Well – some things I thought they would enjoy were a hit, like my old dollhouse
that I drug out of the attic and then a few sticker crafts.
But they surprised me too.
They were much more interested
in playing outside, riding tricycles, checking out the chickens, sitting on the
tractor. And the books I thought
they’d love (kittens and sweet things) were the least favorite. They wanted the books about driving
trucks, everyday activities like bath-time and finding the hidden
pictures. Well – it all worked out
and we had a great time. But I
learned I had to be flexible and not stick with my preconceived ideas about who
they are and what they wanted to do.
By spending time together and
talking and listening to each other, we found many different ways to have fun
together and enjoy each other’s company.
So how does this
relate to family businesses?
Isn’t it the same? We all have preconceived ideas about
how the next-gen should be preparing to take over the business as well as
preconceived ideas about how they should actually run the business. But they
have their own ideas.
How do we learn what their
ideas are? By spending time with
each other on a regular basis – both in and outside of the business and by
actually listening to each other.
And then being honest enough to evaluate everyone’s thoughts, ideas and
concerns and coming up with the best plan for both the business and the
family.
True success for a business
family means both success in the business and success in the family.
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