Decisions Based On Emotion Are Bad For Business

Boundaries are key for minimizing drama family brings to business.

The biggest mistakes made by business leaders are typically caused by  decisions based on emotion. Emotions undermine clear thinking and cause  people to do things they otherwise would never contemplate. And when  family is involved, emotion is involved — it goes with the territory.

A business should be managed with foresight and driven by strategic planning and pragmatic execution, not emotion.

While few universal business rules exist, one canon to keep in mind  is that integrating family into a business environment always makes  things more complex, and complexity often brings trouble.

If you decide to bring family into your business, keep in mind that  boundaries are important. Business must maintain its role, just as  family relationships must also be respected. Finding common ground in  the business that you can both relate to is a key to success.

Potential Problem Areas

Soft spots exist in every business and are breeding grounds for problems.

Inaccurate, unclear, or even nonexistent job descriptions make  promotions or raises subjective and difficult to justify. When a family  member is involved, loyal staff can quickly become cynical and perceive  that nepotism is at work. A family member that is turned down for such  an opportunity can harbor feelings of ill will and create morale  problems.

According to Dave Walker, vice president of sales and marketing for  F&A Cheese Corp., “Family members who become poor performers  eventually will cause morale issues with the other employees. A double  standard can be the outcome, and that is never good for management  credibility.”

History unrelated to business will impact behavior when business  demands create pressure. A sense of entitlement comes into play, and  innocent abuses can easily create expensive problems. Remaining silent  about such behavior serves to train other staff that the bad behavior is  not only tolerated, but acceptable. Worse yet, discipline of non-family  members can lead to complaints, lawsuits and turnover.

In researching this column, I found numerous cases of owners  successfully working with a spouse. While these situations are more  common in smaller firms, they exist in larger organizations as well.  Years of working side by side, particularly through growth and  profitability, can lead the parties to tolerate a difficult environment.  The most common theme in these situations is reflected in the following  comment: “My husband and I have worked together for (16) years … and  although we make it work, it comes at a price to our relationship and  time/energy for family.”

While there are many reasons to avoid hiring a family, my purpose is to  explore steps you can take to minimize the problems if you are already  in a difficult family-at-work situation.

Productively Working with Family

The key to success is good, formal business protocol. The family  relationship can easily become a trump card that causes people to  circumvent key company components such as business values, reporting  hierarchy and the authority matrix. All employees must be treated the  same whether they are family or not.

In many instances it boils down to control. Family relationships must  be kept outside the control matrix and the family member coming in has  to wear the shoes of any other employee.

All employees, family included, should have clear, goal-oriented job  descriptions that include objectively measurable goals. Look for  creative ways to accurately and meaningfully measure effort and  dedication to the job. Being objective with family members just like  with other employees will serve you and the business well.

Personal family issues should be off limits in a business  environment. Keep conversations at work focused on work-related issues  and leave family matters for discussion outside of work hours.

When family members communicate, formality can be quickly forgotten.  Informal names are often perceived as disrespectful and poisonous to  office morale. Help family members understand how to address you with  proper respect, and give them the same consideration.

Abuse of company resources can be another major problem area. Your  color laser printer is not there for personal use, whether by employees  or family members. If special needs arise, handle them as you would for  any other employee. Offer access for non-business needs consistently to  all staff and outside of business hours.

Finally, you must have clear policies and procedures around hiring,  firing, discipline and promotions. The more explicit you can be with  reviews and salary increases the better. The result will be the  development of a culture that strengthens your staff and the entire  organization.

Make decisions for the business based on what is good for the  business. Focus on creating systems and structure. Formalizing controls  and documentation will help you think about your business in ways you  don’t often have time for.

What better use of your time in this slow and  difficult economy than to work on your business to make it stronger.

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