How Do I Sell the Need for Policies & Procedures in Our Family Enterprise to My Parents and Grandparents?

This week’s FamilyBiz Q&A column is by TD&A family business consultant George Burns.

The ultimate paradox here is that more formality, not less, is welcome in a family business.   Parents and grandparents inevitably govern more from the heart than from the head.  Protocols regarding family business communications, procedures for decision-making, even “due process,” may sound cumbersome and bureaucratic, but in the medium and long run they avoid any “redo” and constant complaints about lack of transparency and fair play.  It is a corporate form of good manners and fair dealing that offers the best chance of letting people speak their mind while avoiding the personal.

Thomas D. Davidow is the founder and principal of Thomas D. Davidow & Associates.www.tdavidow.com Dr. Davidow has more than 30 years of experience working with hundreds of national and international family controlled enterprises. He has worked with businesses in diverse fields including retail, distribution, manufacturing, real estate, construction and more.

If you would like speak with Dr. Davidow, he can be reached at (617) 739-2868 or by email at [email protected].

FamilyBiz Q&A © 2011 • All rights reserved

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Posted by jcashman on Apr 28 2012. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry