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By Daniel Elash
Jan Brewer shares a tale thatŽs representative of the experiences of so many family businesses. WeŽll take a look at her story with an eye on two issues. WeŽll and note the good practices that are in evidence at Ricks – how they work to stay fit to win. WeŽll also use the story to identify issues that limit or hinder the typical family business and suggest ways for you to cope with them as they threaten your business.
Jan Brewer, of Jack Ricks Glass in Savannah, Georgia, has a first-hand understanding of many of the complexities unique to family businesses. Jack Ricks founded the commercial and residential glass company 35 years ago, and when Jan married the eldest son, she married into the glass business as well. The marriage ultimately ended, but her ties to the family business have only grown.
After many years with Jack Ricks Glass, Jan and her husband left to form West Side Glass. Her husband soon expanded the business to a second location, despite JanŽs concern that rapid growth would stretch resources too thinly. Jan soon found herself struggling to manage both businesses, and, unfortunately, the friction from diverging business ideas and the stress of managing a business growing too rapidly to stay solvent took its toll on their marriage. When they parted ways, her former husband took over the location he opened, while Jan maintained West Side Glass, the business she had built from the ground up—literally:
"I bought land and built my own buildings. I branched out pretty quickly, but then I began to run into cash flow problems—Too much growth and not enough money to back it up. I pretty much exhausted all of my means for supporting the business financially."
Being able to discuss vital issues and wisely settle disagreements are critical skills in any business environment. Communication about critical issues involves:
Being able to frame the issues in a way that sets the stage that leads to a good business decision. Being able to consider the key issues and their implications as they affect your value proposition. Being able to think together, as thought partners, to reach the best decision for the enterprise. Being able to constructively resolve conflicts along the way. These things are difficult for people to do in calm, dispassionate settings. The ability to them effectively is essential for the people in family businesses and privately held companies, where emotions and personal feelings can operate much closer to the surface. Without the capabilities for talking about and thinking through challenges and opportunities these businesses will be needlessly limited.
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