Potential Solutions
In most cases, the promoter or the entrepreneur delays taking action especially when he is the perpetrator of the problem. Hence he initially hopes that the problem will go away and later try to solve it himself. He finally goes to a domain expert who is likely to give a set of solutions, which may or may not deliver the proposed results. The reason for this is that the fundamental problem lies with the promoter.
In the case of Mr. Raj Kumar and his son Ajay Kumar, the core issue is the complex father-son relationship that being spilt into the business. Unless this issue is resolved, the problem is not going away nor a permanent solution can be obtained even if the current problem is somewhat managed.
The best person suited for handling emotions in business is certainly not a consultant. Sometimes they happen to be a confidant or even some kind of mentor. Rarely is the confidant really neutral and he is most certainly not professionally qualified to really bring about a change. The mentor is not best suited as he is seen to pass down his views which may not be agreeable to both parties.
In contrast, a Coach may be able to help in a really powerful way. He is equipped to handle the emotions of the clients as well as help shift perspective that is sometimes so required to arrive at a solution. The coach is also seen as neutral and can challenge the clients without any perceived judgments.
Coaching Intervention
The role of the coach would be to first understand what the father-son duo really wants for themselves and from each other. This may be easier said than done. These are complex people with complex needs and it is possible that they themselves don’t know what they want. The coach will have to use techniques like NLP,etc to get the clients to open up and/or discover what they really want from their lives, their family and from their family businesses. Unless there is real passion in the business they inherit, the 2nd or 3rd generations are not going be successful. There are several reasons why the client is unable to articulate their real passion:
In the case of Mr.Raj Kumar and Mr.Ajay Kumar, the expectations of both of them from each other and for themselves need to be delved in. This could lead to a better understanding of the core issue. The Coach can intervene in a very powerful way to help both the clients, viz the father and son. An outdoor retreat could help them examine themselves more deeply and help a paradigm shift in their perspectives. NLP exercises like perceptual positioning could help them see and understand from the other person’s point of view.
Once, the client(s) become aware of what they really want in their lives and/or what from the each other, it completely changes their perspective. The realization could either help in moving forward or could throw up new challenges. The client may have some limiting beliefs that could hold them back from moving forward.
In such cases, the coach needs to firstly help the client become aware of this underlying belief. Once this is done, the client now is in better position to understand how they can handle these dis-empowering or empowering beliefs.
A critical aspect in the entire exercise is the management of emotions and the complex relationship between the family members and their impact on business. The coach could help the clients to seek and appreciate the strengths of the other family members involved in the business. Techniques such as Appreciative enquiry, etc could be used to help them in this shift in perspective.
The coach then helps the client(s) to explore options given the new perspective and realizations. The clients then debate the options and arrive at an action plan that is best suited for them and one that would help realize their true potential.
In the case of Mr.Ajay Kumar and Mr. Raj Kumar, there could many steps that they need to be explored before arriving at an action plan. The biggest step would be for Mr. Raj Kumar to ‘let go’ and accept what best for Mr. Ajay Kumar. On the other hand, Mr. Ajay Kumar needs to learn to believe in himself and where his true potential lies. Both need to realize their respective limiting beliefs. This realization would help them lead to action plan that is more likely to succeed. The solutions reached would have the acceptable to all parties as they are made with better understanding and with buy in from all parties.
The role of a Coach doesn’t end with the conflict resolution or helping clients take a more empowered action to achieve their goals. In fact, a good company may retain the Coach on an ongoing basis even if want to use Coaches as a sounding board to help clarify issues.
Challenges in Coaching Family Businesses
The biggest challenge faced by Coaches targeting this segment is lack of awareness and understanding about coaching as a tool in helping resolve business and more importantly family issues. This is particularly tough in Asian countries where family businesses are normally very closed knit and secretive. The concept of opening up to an ‘outsider’ is a hurdle that one has to overcome.
Secondly, coaching family businesses require tremendous inter-personal skills as family members and in particular the head of the family/business can be extremely challenging clients. The coach would need to quickly build the trust among key members of the family. But once having done that, the coach has several advantages such as neutrality, confidentially, ability to maintain a distance, etc. These advantages are huge and work strongly in favor of Coaches compared to a mentor or a confidant.
Conclusion
The family businesses are the engine of growth in any economy. They are innovative and a great source for employment. With world markets getting increasing competitive, it is imperative that the failure rate of family business be reduced. While there are many external challenges facing the family businesses, failure due to emotional issues such break ups, poor succession planning, inability to let go of control, etc are internal issues that can be managed if the clients are committed to it. But unfortunately, it is these emotional reasons that are one of the biggest reasons for the failures among family businesses.
Families who have managed these issues have shown that they can become some of the most successful companies in the world and stand test of time. Outstanding examples are Tatas & Birlas in India, Samsung of Korea, Ford, Panda group & Walmart of USA, etc.
Hence, failure rate of family businesses can be dramatically reduced if the key members of the business take corrective steps in time. A good Coach can prove invaluable to family business in helping them achieve the true potential that they deserve. The coach can help the key family members to look inward, outward, and towards other family members in a manner that is best suited for the business. He is also their sounding board. The confidential nature of the relationship and with ‘’ no-vested interests’’, the coach is also a great resource that the ‘owner(s)’ can talk to.
References
Family Business Statistics in the US- Isabella McPeak. )
Approach to Family Business Coaching – Center for Applied Research . )
Why do 70% of Family Business Fail by the Second Generation? By: Richard B. Schneider, Estate Planning Attorney / Category: Small Business Planning
Family Firm Institute.
Interview of Mr. Puneet Dalmia in Forbes india.
handson/10952/1#ixzz2AyIVJ6v1
Indian Family Business – Their survival beyond 3rd generation - By K. Ramachandran, Indian School of Business.
Case Study is based on real situation. The names have been changed. Permission has been sought to discuss their situation without revealing names and other identities.