Why you need fresh air in a family business

One of the secrets of personal and business success is keeping things fresh and renewed. That’s not just about continuous improvement, new ideas and training & development, it’s more fundamental than that. It’s about keeping the key people fresh.

Our family business includes all four of our adult children. When we opened the business in 2010, we all committed to be around for at least five years. This was a fundamental principle of our first five year business plan, so that we could establish the business with some stability, and make the best use of the various key skills that each sibling had to offer - and of course to develop skills.

The hospitality sector, in which we operate, is renowned for high staff turnover, which for us in Nelson is also linked with seasonal staffing requirements. Many people have come and gone, and we celebrate the contribution they have made to our business and customers, and the contribution we have made to their learning and experience. So an advantage for us as a family business is simply having an abundance of strong commitment, shared values and passion that is pretty unique.

That doesn’t mean to say that we don’t have wobbly times, tensions, exhaustion and frustrations like any other business. But we support one another and come through it all the stronger. In amongst all that, another key principle, despite the 5 year commitment ideal, is that nobody is a prisoner to the business and no-one is indispensable either. That’s just good and healthy, and maintains a sense of freedom which is missing in many family businesses.

So as the five-year point arrived in mid-2015, one son launched into an 18-month European adventure to use and gain his experience, as well as to take a break. Another son joined him for part of that for just a few months to have a holiday and to just check out what it’s like to work somewhere else. In a family business you can easily get stuck and stifled, and being part of the management and ownership, you can easily forget what it’s like to have a ‘normal’ employment. As a son returns, a daughter plans to head off to Aussie for 6 months to use her management experience and to have a break from the family business, and hopefully to get fresh ideas for herself and the business. That leaves one son who is settled with his own family and has remained in the business the whole time. He also feels the need for a change or a new opportunity which has yet to be realised. However, new thinking doesn't depend on going away, but in being open to change and growth within one place or in an extended business empire.

So what is the point of all this? Well it’s all about opening the doors of the family business and making sure that family members can come and go, and yet still feel part of the business. Even in working elsewhere, we involve them in communication and decisions, and they remain part of the family support. They open up gaps for others when they go, and they bring new ideas and experience when they come back. They don’t feel stifled, and neither does the business. It is so important that people get the fresh air of change, even if they have a chosen the family business as a base.

Personally, I have never done exactly the same thing for very long, but rather thrived on new challenges and developing existing ones. It makes life interesting to build experience and a career adventure across different oceans rather than sailing in the same pond. The ongoing challenge is keeping it all fresh, and providing enough opportunity for each person in the family to grow and to feel that they are fulfilled. The same challenge is there for non-family people involved, but that's another story.

Ian Williams      February 2016