5 minute read
PRESIDENT’S VIEW
BY ABYDEE BUTLER MOORE
Abydee Butler Moore is GAWDA’s 2020-2021 president, as well as President and COO of Butler Gas Products Company. She can be reached at 412771-7660 ext. 316 or abutlermoore@ butlergas.com. A n overwhelming majority of GAWDA distributors are multi-generation, family-owned businesses. Likely one of the reasons I love this industry, this dense population of family and succession makes for an M&A field day. Eat or be eaten. Grow or die. The ship is not going down on my watch. These rallying cries of survival make business fun. Family business has purpose and divine stewardship. It also provides the joy of spending time creating something bigger than yourself with the people you love. But it’s not without its complexities.
We DOBs and SOBs (daughters of boss/sons of boss) are born into great opportunity. Literally, we simply got lucky with who our parents are. Being part of a family business is the most rewarding and most challenging dynamic possible. Families rip businesses apart, businesses rip families apart, and if you’re able to avoid either of those fates at all costs, you accept a life of blurred lines with Thanksgiving table Board meetings. “It’s not personal, it’s business” is a statement that has always made me chuckle. Whoever coined this cliché did not work with their family.
From my experience in family business, most problems, big and small, arise from not having a conversation early into an issue. Nothing explodes more violently than festering feelings with the accelerant of financial implications. Have the tough talks and have them soon.
For my fellow DOBs and SOBs out there, and for our parents, here is my list of 10 Things We Business Kids Should Be Telling Our Parents But Are Scared To:
1. Don’t gift us the business; help us buy it.
Milestones mean more when they are earned. You also value things more when you pay for them. Stock gifts and trusts make sense in many estate plans, but the true gift, if you want to give one, is helping us get some skin in the game.
2. Teach us what has worked. And what has not worked.
Sure, we may be better at technology and marketing, but you’re better at everything else. While possible that raw talent skips a generation, and we missed it, more likely than not, this far superior competency is due to your experience. Building a business for decades has given you Rain Man math skills with Wolf of Wall Street financial prowess. We are in awe. Share your secrets with us every chance you get.
3. Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
Grownups ask these questions of kids, but kids in family businesses need to ask these questions of grownups. Knowing your predecessor’s exit strategy helps manage expectations. Even better, write out your own 5- and 10-year plan upon asking your parents for theirs. Sit down and compare notes.
4. Don’t saddle us with a mess.
You are going to die. So are we. Life is event driven. Please don’t wait for the event to realize it is prudent to put documents in place, like shareholders’ agreements and buy-sells. What is in your will? Who do we consult regarding business matters in your absence? Businesses need preventative maintenance.
5. We are terrified that we will never be half the businessperson you are.
Walking in your footsteps leaves some big shoes to fill. Be open about what keeps you up at night. Don’t treat us like a clerk with only tactical work assignments. We need to learn the big strategic things. We know we are under a microscope with immense pressure to succeed. Give us frequent and direct feedback.
6. Let us fail. But let us win, too.
One of the things that made me want to come into our family business was that I always felt I owned the place. My dad made it fun and inclusive from a very young age. He would not bring my Girl Scout cookie sale form into the office to pass it around; he had me come into the office and pitch cookies to a sales meeting (a hilariously embarrassing story for another day).
7. Beware what you say and do, as we will listen, and, likely, implement or repeat it literally.
Next-Gens in business are like sponges. We will listen, learn, and connect dots. Due to our lack of experience, we will take direction literally. We will also emulate you, including those not-so-great traits. We play monkey see, monkey do with those as well. 8. Fire us if we are incompetent or passionless.
You tolerating our lackluster effort or bad attitude will destroy the business’s morale. You endorse what you tolerate. If we do not get it, want it, or have the capacity to do it, cut off the arm to save the body. There are plentiful success models like professional management as opposed to pretending like we have what it takes if we do not. Our parent/ child relationship will be stronger if we acknowledge early on that running a business is not for us, versus a drawn-out demise of false hope.
9. Introduce us to your network, and turn us loose to build our own.
This is a relationship industry. We must get out, meet people, and engage in our industry associations. Push us to volunteer and sign us up for every industry training opportunity you can find. It is amazing what is learned through osmosis. If you want to be a great businessperson, you have to hang out with great businesspeople.
10. Does the business exist to support the family, or does the family exist to support the business?
Neither is right or wrong, they are just different values. Strategically, the generations in a business need to be on the same page regarding this topic, or it will always be at the root of every conflict.
Joining the Spring Management Conference Education Track lineup, alongside HR, Technology, Sales, and Safety is a fifth track on Family Business. Robert Anders (Holston Gases) kicks off the track with Outside In – Running a Family Business When You’re not in the Family. Second, Jack Butler (Butler Gas) presents Protecting the Golden Goose from Slaughter. Third, Nicole Kissler (Norco) shares Future Planning – Employee Ownership and Shifting Generations. All Education Track presentations welcome open dialogue and Q&A. We look forward to continuing the family business conversation in Nashville!
