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Doing It Right
PROCRASTINATION: Dealing with procrastination is not an issue that is limited to family businesses. The natural tendency to put things off-- waiting until "the time is right"---when dealing with fearful issues seems to be the rule rather than the exception. The military’s Special Forces units and many intelligence agencies have developed a perspective that is appropriate for anyone facing a difficult situation; “Good is often better than best.” In other words, acting on a good opportunity is better than waiting for the perfect one. Otherwise, delays caused by waiting for the perfect moment can shut the window of opportunity before action results. Procrastination can result from any number of causes, besides waiting for the perfect moment. It tends to result when there is uncertainty about one’s relative knowledge, information, and skill, and generally arises out of inaccurate comparisons, that are based on insufficient information. Sadly, these sorts of uncertainties create self-fulfilling outcomes; we can’t compete effectively because we aren’t good/smart/resourceful/whatever enough. Consider people whose highest level of formal education is the 12th grade, represented by a high school diploma. These people join the adult world of work after finishing high school and spend many years developing specialized skills, knowledge and experience. Regardless of the depth of their hard-earned knowledge and experience, these folks often feel inadequate when comparing themselves to those with college degrees. Fresh college graduates, however, lack the knowledge or skill that comes from experience. What college graduates do have is practice at learning how to learn, and some degree of development of their thinking skills. The much more experienced high school graduates may have developed similar thinking skills during the time they’ve spent working, yet, when comparing themselves to others with more formal education, they assume their lack of higher degrees translates into less adequate thinking skills, and base their decisions on faulty information. Let’s say there is a position available in a company that both types of people find attractive---the high school grad with a wealth of knowledge and experience, and the college grad lacking any significant experience. Based on a self-limiting view (“I’m not as good as college grads because I lack a college degree”), the high school grad may procrastinate on applying for a job at which s/he may excel. Meanwhile, the overconfident college grad applies for the job, and gets it. A self-limiting view prevented someone from even exploring a possibility. The window of opportunity was shut due to faulty conclusions based on poor information. I have worked with many family businesses that underestimated themselves in relation to more “corporate” competition. It isn’t that they lack confidence in their products. Rather, they see their organizations as more gritty or plucky than polished or sophisticated. This is relevant in that they often try to compensate by strength of effort for their self-perceived lack of finesse. This tendency to underestimation comes from a tendency to measure themselves against themselves, with too little accurate information about the strategies and tactics of their competition. The point is, by developing new skills and approaches, and practicing until they are comfortable with the techniques, they will be as sophisticated as they need to be to create and sustain a competitive advantage based upon organizational capability. In family businesses, procrastination can result from underestimating strengths as easily as it can result from waiting for the perfect moment, or condition, to act. Many people who have built their own businesses, or who run businesses that have been in the family for years, fear taking action because they underestimate the strength of their knowledge. This misperception can be especially strong for those who have spent their whole careers in family business, who lack the perspective gained from working in other environments to use in making comparisons. It is common for them to slip into thinking they don’t know as much as they actually know. Procrastination can follow from underestimating yourself. Attitudes shape perceptions; confidence levels rule options in or out more often than actual capabilities. Shedding self-limiting views opens new possibilities. Procrastination can be defeated. If your company isn’t doing the best it can due to self-limiting perceptions and comparisons that come from inadequate knowledge of the competition, see section 6 (organizational fitness) for ideas and tools that enable you to create the ability to take stock of situations, assess options, make decisions, and act in a timely fashion to achieve the company’s objectives. Family Businesses Rarely Have A Functioning Organizational Chart: Most family businesses do not have functional organizational charts, and without an accurate description of the organization, and a clear understanding of responsibilities, growth is limited. Lacking an organizational chart indicates an absence of formal structure, which in turn, signals amateurishness. It also says a company is procrastinating on developing the professionalism that is necessary to achieve extraordinary execution. It speaks to companies not taking the time to spell out the “how,” but rather, who focus on throwing lots of energy at the “what,” doing the same old things in the same old ways. Highly successful companies openly discuss and measure the work habits of employees and managers (family and otherwise), hold people accountable, and provide them with all the necessary and relevant information they need to perform their jobs with excellence. They do what it takes, and they do it sooner rather than later. Some questions to ask yourself that give an indication of the level of professionalism currently existing within your business:
These are difficult issues to face for many family-owned business leaders. However, not dealing with them now, putting them off, and ignoring them in the hopes they’ll go away won’t create the level of professionalism your company needs to achieve extraordinary execution. Procrastination is a deadly sin, in that it can sound the death knell for your company. Alignment And Professionalism Are Critical: Professional management systems and formal communications are vital to high-performance organizations, but typically, family companies do not use them or are slow to adopt them. Developing, expecting and supporting professional management skills among all employees (family members as well as those from outside the family), and getting them to focus/work together is necessary if the company is to survive, grow, and prosper. It can be crucial for significant growth. The leaders of a business that is moving confidently into the future are focused on creating synergy rather than over-controlling or micro managing the work. They are acting rather than waiting. Procrastination is often the name of the game when leaders are dealing with the family business from the family’s perspective; every relevant stakeholder must be factored in and dealt with, as appropriate. These individuals, and the cliques that may exist, while perhaps having little to do with the day-to-day operations of the company, can add to the confusion and discord or they can be stepping stones for harmony and growth. Wives of heirs and successors are critical to success and must continually be kept in the loop. Even if legal structures are in place, unless personal ramifications are managed as well, life will not be smooth. After all, aren’t there complications that arise from people challenging and fighting about those legal structures? Without confidence, who wants to rock the boat on the chance of making things better? Being professional---being driven and focused by the demands of the business plan rather than by petty personal motives---and getting a professional bearing sooner rather than later is one of the best ways to channel and focus the personal issues of extended family members into the most constructive direction possible. Are business goals (sales targets, market share, etc.) being discussed openly? Do employees feel they’re part of the team? Can the management team make decisions without prior approval from you? Are training and educational expenses encouraged and regularly reimbursed? Are managers honestly concerned about meeting their objectives, and about getting the job done, or do people simply put in their time? Are people more creative about finding solutions, or making excuses for shortfalls and foul-ups? Are people being over-promoted (The Peter Principle) just because they’ve endured in the company? Can Dad go to Florida in the winter and Cape Cod in the summer---for weeks, without problems, without calling in---and have things continue to hum? Is the CEO’s the only working brain tolerated in the company? Does s/he manage the day-to-day activities rather than the managers? In one company where I consulted, I suggested that we simply fire the entire tier of managers under the CEO, since they weren’t allowed to do anything more than make sure that people worked safely. Any other decision they might make was quickly second-guessed or over-ruled. Is there a state of war between and among the long-term employees and new managers, etc.? Once again, your answers to these questions will give you a feel for the difficulties, created by the level of amateurishness, that you tolerate in the company. Too many personal solutions, coupled with too few professional ones, will lead your company to operate with only a fraction of its potential. Think of it as leaving serious money on the table. The waste is there. All of these issues simmer and eventually come to a boil when not addressed as they arise. They grow in complexity as they sit, untended, over time. Procrastination can be a real killer. Deal with it now, or later; it’s your choice.
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