EOS & Family-Owned Businesses

October is National Work and Family Month, which encourages businesses to create a healthy, balanced organization. It is already stressful enough to find that balance when it comes to managing a business and a family, but how do you find that balance when the business you’re managing is made up of your family?

The Challenges Family-Owned Businesses Face

Family-owned businesses face unique challenges that many other businesses never experience. Whether they are sitting down at the conference table or the kitchen, when a leadership team is made up of family members, it can be hard to separate the personal feelings from the professional. And, despite best efforts and intentions, it can often get messy, resulting in hurt feelings and growing resentments.

When it gets too hard for family-owned businesses to separate these feelings, it makes it harder to solve issues productively. The tension can wind up destroying family relationships, hurting the health of the team, and halting business growth. This is because no one is focusing on what is best for the business, only on what is best for themselves. Being able to get past the family dysfunction and drama, to set a clear divide is the only way a family-owned business can become a stronger, healthier organization.

EOS Helps Family-Owned Businesses Grow

The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) has truly been transformational for many family-owned and operated businesses because it helps them:

1. Stop talking about the business during family time. Everything that needs to be discussed about the business gets handled during what we call, the L10 Meeting, leaving dinner time to focus on building those family relationships.
2. Create clear accountability throughout the organization so that every member of the family and leadership team has a clearly defined role. Who is doing what is no longer an issue, because everyone has their responsibilities and accountabilities that they are in charge of and that are the right fit for them and the business.
3. Helps them look at the business objectively. The EOS Scorecard tells the truth about the business’ performance, removing the guesswork, personalities, and egos from decision making so they can make informed choices that focus on pushing the business closer to its vision.
4. Create a working environment where they can be open and honest with each other—getting all thoughts, questions, and feelings out on the floor so that they can be resolved.

The tools that EOS provides, along with coaching from an EOS Implementer like me, can help get your family-owned business on the same page with where the business is heading. EOS will help you get a clear path of succession for the business, putting the right people in the right seats. You’ll learn how to set challenging, yet achievable goals that will actually take the business to the next level.

In fact, EOS has been so integral to many family-owned businesses’ continued success, that EOS recently partnered with Prairie Family Business Association to strengthen our support to these businesses.

If you’re a family-owned business interested in EOS and how it can help you, let’s connect!