Owner families should respect formal decision-making processes

Many family businesses have a board and day-to-day management made up of a mix of family owners and people with no family ties to the business.

The chairman of the board and several of the managers that are working on a contract may be part of the owner family, while the rest of the management is not.

In this case, the chairman of the board and the managers that belong to the owning family should agree NOT to try to change the company's decisions at social family gatherings.

If they do, they undermine the formal decision-making processes that are needed to run the business as efficiently as possible.

And they are sure to cause justified frustration at board meetings, where participants who were NOT present at the latest family dinner party may feel undermined.

If family co-owners are to have the special privilege of providing input to the decision-making processes of the board, this should be done through a formalized family business forum that can accommodate the family and bolster its role as a strong team player.

Contact me if you need help to strengthen your formal decision-making processes.

(NOTE: This post can be read in conjunction with my previous posts on family business forums and business and family gatherings.)