Have you remembered the emotions of your family business?

Hopefully, because they can both support and undermine the family of owners.

This is not new knowledge. Still, many family businesses could benefit from focusing more on how the owners feel about each other.

Because strategies for development and operations are important, but they don't do it alone. Organizational work also only goes so far, as does technical skill.

Emotions are a hugely important aspect of family business life.

Emotions can move a group of people or bring them to a standstill, regardless of whether they've got their act together.

Some of the challenges I helped solve as chairman of the board of my family's business were strategic, technical and market-related. And it was necessary to address them, no doubt about it.

But there is also no doubt that relationships and emotions were just as important - for better or worse.

I was not very good at putting emotions on the agenda when the family met to talk about the business. They were kind of pushed to the side because we had all the other (delightfully impersonal!) issues to deal with.

If I could go back in time and offer myself advice, I would basically say:

"Hey, Eva, remember to treat the emotional challenges with the same dedication as all the other challenges. When was the last time you talked to each other about your relationships in the family?"

The purpose of talking about emotions in the family business is simple:

A family that is emotionally cohesive is much more likely to thrive and lead their business through a storm than a family where emotions have a destructive impact on collaboration.

So really, it's just common sense to focus on emotions.

Is your family interested in working on your relationships - but finding it difficult? Contact me to find out how a counselor can help you get started.