Recently we attended a manufacturers roundtable in the 3rd largest city in Tennessee. Every company at the table some 30 + were hiring and struggling to find employees. The real issues are multi-sided quandaries. At the top of each column in our analysis are gains and loses. First we realise we are according to [Continue Reading]
What’s the Cause? Family Business and Physics share the same laws.
Did you ever consider that some of the laws of physics, thermodynamics apply to Family businesses. Let’s consider a few laws of physics, you remember your quantum physics right? The three that effect Family Businesses: Hawthorne effect, a form of reactivity in which subjects modify an aspect of their behavior, in response to their knowing that [Continue Reading]
Family Business: Generativity Vs. Stagnation
In Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development, generativity is a struggle against stagnation that ascends during adulthood. Generativity in the psychosocial sense refers to the concern for establishing and guiding the next generation and is said to stem from a sense of optimism about humanity. Last week we had another one of those, I [Continue Reading]
Standards Become Culture in Family Business
Standards are how we perform, where we are and what we hold ourselves and others accountable. In many organizations, employees must meet standards of professional behavior as a condition of employment. These standards help an organization create a respectful working environment for everyone. If you learn the standards that govern your workplace, you can ensure that [Continue Reading]
Family Business Leadership starts with Self-Leadership, Self-awareness
Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World is the title of a 2013 book by Joseph Badaracco. Badaracco is a professor of Business ethics at Harvard Business School. He is also a Senior Associate Dean, Chair of the MBA Program. This work made me reflect on some of the Family Businesses HRB is working with — [Continue Reading]
Nom de Guerre
The chess player views the whole board and envisions two moves ahead. Some family business have members at the top who don’t look forward. What is your assumed name – nom de guerre – in the Family Business? What is your assumed name? Are you a front-runner, ground-breaker, or second-rate, insufficient? Nom de guerre is [Continue Reading]
Does your Family Owned Business have a Code, an Ethos, a culture?
What is your Family Owned BusinessCode, Ethos or culture? Ethos is a Greek word meaning “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. Culture is comprised of many different elements that have been passed down for generations, including knowledge, belief systems, experiences, values, attitudes, religion, [Continue Reading]
Family Business and Chaos Theory
Family Business and Chaos Theory. Our Team continued to work at the family’s manufacturing plant. Improvement is difficult without stability. Do you know anything about the chaos theory? It has to do with fractal mathematics. A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at every [Continue Reading]