PLAYING THE LONG GAME

With the football season still only weeks old, the pressure on players and management to succeed is already ramping up. It's all in a day's work for the family business owner, says David Nicklin. Football arouses strong passions and brings unique pressures for owners and managers, but nothing quite matches the day to day pressures involved in running a busy family business. Working with family brings with it a huge amount of positives - autonomy, tradition, independence and a unique sense of heritage and being in charge of the family destiny to name but a few. There are of course unique challenges also requiring tactful management if the business is to flourish over the long term. We're lucky here at Nicklin to have enjoyed enduring good family relations in the business throughout our history, but for some companies, managing family conflict in the business can be a huge challenge and potentially toxic. In essence, successful family businesses thrive on common goals and the entire team pulling together to achieve them. The whole issue of perceived nepotism also requires careful handling in order to instil a sense of fairness and openness throughout the company - nothing can alienate fellow colleagues more than a sense of one rule for 'them' and another for the family. Indeed, incentivising and motivating non family members within the business is a big challenge in itself. It is all too easy to see good employees fall by the wayside if they believe their opportunities for progression or reward are held back by the unique structure of the company. Any business obviously needs a good mix of people to prosper, but this is especially the case in family firms where non family perspectives are essential, particularly at senior levels. Choose the right people, and they will be an asset for the firm for life. Naturally, managing a family firm can also be a highly emotional affair but running the business on emotions is a common pitfall. It is absolutely essential to determine the right amount of emotion needed to successfully cater for the unique needs of your own business environment in relation to how approachable you are and open to criticism and challenge. Finally, succession planning is another crucial element for any family businesses to consider if they are to truly prosper over the longer term. Typically, firms can get wrapped up in the day to day task of managing clients and budgets to pay the issue its fair share of attention, yet it's something that will inevitably need to be faced - by us all. Sadly many family firms don't make it beyond the first or second generation. Managing differing inter-generational perspectives and goals is again key - something we like to think we've been able to do with some success here, being in our fourth generation of family stewardship. It's never easy and there will always be differences of opinion to reconcile, but the rewards still far outweigh the ongoing challenges. Of course nothing quite matches the intense pressure of a big derby game or penalty in front of rival fans, but next time you're watching a particularly nail-biting finish to a match, spare a thought for the family business owners, for whom juggling major pressures is just a day to day reality of the job.