When a family business adopts a mission statement that spells out the business rules of engagement, the members of the family working for the business have something to anticipate. When it's possible to look forward to what lies ahead for a family business, a forward-looking approach and outlook is developed.
Managing a family business means that difficult decisions must sometimes be made. If a family business is to survive a rough economic patch, it may be necessary to reduce the number of people the business employs. One way to determine who will stay and who will go is to evaluate each employee's level of flexibility and creative problem solving skills.
It's important that the family members running a business have similar family business values. The real security of family business is knowledge that the family has the same core values, and that in good times as well as challenging times, every member of the family is committed to working together in the best interest of the business.
