Damaging The Family Business

Once upon a time, a man started a business and this business thrived. He then had sons who grew up in his business and learned that business very well. In turn, they branched out and started their own businesses which were based on their father’s business. While the sons operated their own businesses, they carried the name of their father’s business and the father kept a close watch on them so they wouldn’t do anything to tarnish the business name.

Over the years, their businesses flourished and grew. But there were some who wondered from the ways they had been taught by their father. When the father questioned their unfavored business activities, he gave them the opportunity to eliminate these practices and return to the proper ways of the father’s business. Some agreed and some didn’t and they were asked to change the name of their business. Some had wondered so far from their father’s business plan that they were told to leave the business, depart from the family and the father would have another son take over that business.

As those first generation of sons grew their businesses, they also had sons who in turn went out and also started branches of the family business. These sons also did very well with their branches of the family business and so this second generation flourished.

The father, who first began the business, had a manual which he conducted his business by. In turn, he expected all his sons and grandsons to conduct business by that manual. As already noted, for those who failed to run their businesses by this manual and the things it represented and stood for, they were asked to leave. The father was determined to run his business in strict adherence to this manual and never wavered from it. He had very strong convictions concerning this manual and how he ran his business. He also insisted his sons do the same and they did while he was alive.

As the many years passed by and the father grew older, he became ill and he eventually died. With all the family knowing death was not far away, some questioned, “Who will take over the main business, the one which father started?” That question was also asked by customers who have benefited from this business for many years. Up to the time of his death, all of his son’s businesses were independent but carried the name of the family business. The father knew there might be some confusion and some type of struggle to take over the main business so he formed an organization of all the businesses under one organizational group. Since an organization is one compiled of many independent entities, there would be no confusion or struggle to take over the whole ball of wax, so to speak. But the father had failed to assign an heir to take over his original business and that resulted in being a mistake.

When the father died, one of his older sons moved in and took over the main business and refused to relinquish control. This ultimately resulted in a majority of the businesses, which the other sons and grandsons owned, departing and maintaining their place in the organization. The organization had departed from the original business but retained all the ethics and practices of the business their father had established.

More years went by and some of the older sons began to stray from the ethics which their father had run his business by. The father never allowed outside influences to dictate how he ran his business. He never allowed his business to be involved in political agendas. He always followed his manual and let it guide him in his business practices. He firmly believed his business was not a place to practice these platforms since they had nothing to do with the purpose of his business.

Now, there were more of his older sons and grandsons allowing these ethics to be violated. The sons were losing sight of what the father had taught them. They never would have ventured out into these ways while the father was alive. Many times, the business had been under fire for the way it conducted business but the father refused to give in. He believed in doing business by the manual regardless of how much pressure came from the outside. He refused to compromise and resort to the business practices of others. His business had thrived for many years while he followed his manual and he never had to compromise his practices. But now, some of his sons had done just that.

They invited in the outside practices of others. They allowed the ethics of the father to be violated. Do they realize if the father was alive today, he would chastise them? He would tell them to stop or he would remove them from the business. I guess it should be noted that not all of the sons moved their operations in this direction. But it only takes one to tarnish the business name. Many of these sons are bringing damage to the name of the family business but the father is no longer here to admonish them and stop their destructive behavior. And so, the family business name will continue to be damaged until there is one family member who will rise up and tell the others just how much damage is being done. Who will that son be?