 Chuck Bowen, Editor |
Business can be hard enough without adding the extra pressure of family ties. And Thanksgiving dinner can be stressful enough without adding the extra tension of a rough year at the office. Many landscape companies are run by families – sometimes three generations’ worth – and most make it work. In this month’s cover story, “All in the family” on page 44, we take a look at three operations across the country where companies have been successful in walking the thin line between business and family. David Snodgrass runs Dennis’ 7 Dees in Portland with two of his brothers and has to deal with sibling rivalry. Steve Pattie has his three children, his son-in-law and his ex-wife all on the Pattie Group’s payroll. And Eric Seatz had to let go of his father, mother and brother to make ELS Landscaping & Lawn Service run the way he wanted. When they work, family businesses are a beautiful thing – they take the close bonds of parents and siblings, and focus their collective passion on growing a successful organization. But when they sputter, that same passion can quickly turn into a special brand of discord and strife that non-family businesses don’t typically see. It’s hard to fire a foreman, but what if that foreman is your brother? Or your dad? To help alleviate some of that pain, we also talked with Ira Bryck, who runs the UMass Amherst Family Business Center. He explains some ways companies can address and work to avoid the stress of working with your family. “I’m surprised how surprised people are that their family relationships get in the way. The family roles are constantly interfering much more than one might think,” he says. “Just in terms of the love issue – loving your children, spouse or siblings unconditionally gets in the way of how you evaluate their performance.” Bryck says, bottom line, owners need clear communication and a separation of their feelings toward their family as family and as their employees. “I would give you a kidney,” he says. “But I can’t give you a raise.” |
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