The Interconnection of Business & Family
“We’re like a family”
A tale as old as time - business leaders for the longest time have been describing their team and company like a family. This affection is a heartwarming and tested approach to building trust and effectiveness to create mutual success at work. While it’s a beautiful colloquialism, your family is your family and your business is, well, different. While you might not truly be family, I believe the best companies create an environment where the connections feel like family, the pod’s feel like a unit and you know your colleagues spouse, dog and children’s names - because you care. After all, people don’t quit companies as much as they quit on people.
At a previous high-growth company I worked at, the leadership team took a very special approach that I’ll always remember. In earnest, it felt like this: The hours are long, the stress is intense and for that, we thank your spouses. I thought this approach was really considerate. We as working professionals gave so much of ourselves to our job and in turn, the opportunity cost, was often a reduction in our family attention. For every moment you work, you are by nature not giving that time elsewhere. Nowhere can that be more taxing than your loved ones. This particular company used to hold a year end party that was a celebration, a thank you, to the spouses because it’s often the spouses that bear the brunt of a hard work ethic and long hours at a fast growing company.
For a startup to work, the team needs to establish urgency, trust and accountability - and you have to do it fast. Considering most startups fail, the best ones are able to build a motivating and high performance culture rooted in transparency, respect and accountability. These are the type of cultures where “I wouldn’t ask you to do something that I wouldn’t do myself.” Just like a family - when the parents bark down at the kids to do something but aren’t willing to help, nor show them the way, the results tend to be poor. To build respect and trust, whether at home or in the office, you have to go deep into the trenches together. Leaders have to lead by example and prove it, not just say it. I write this as a consistent reminder to myself but also as a student of the game on how to improve.
My father has run an independent medical practice for over 35 years. His staff are like family. They’re loyal to him, he’s loyal to them and my Dad would sink without them. He owes everything to them. My mom is in the office multiple times a week helping out, asking the staff what they need and ensuring our family is here to help their families. In turn, they work hard and help our family sustain the practice. That’s what families do.
What really inspired me to write this, however, was Walmart. After studying the business philosophy of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, it became evident that how you treat your people, who in turn serve the customer, is everything. Even after Walmart became a publicly traded company, Sam Walton would invite 2,400 associates and managers over to his house for a picnic after their annual shareholder meeting. Helen, Sam’s wife, was part of the company and family was so integral to the business that she would cook all month to prepare for the company barbecue. There’s something different about a home cooked meal than a fancy party!
The Walton’s didn’t create a wall between family and business and that fluidity only strengthened the company. Sam Walton would hold Saturday meetings and ask his managers to meet at 730am on the weekend. He knew that took a toll on families with kids and he was so appreciative of his teams’ dedication. He knew it was hard but he knew it was an integral ingredient to the company’s success over the year. He couldn’t ask store associates to work retail on the weekends and then let the managers skate by without a similar commitment. While it was challenging for Walmart executives, Sam felt that the accountability and sacrifice was what the business needed to satisfy its mission - to serve the customer. Sam would routinely go into his stores and ask his associates about their lives. He’d look them in the eyes, remember their names and ask them about their lives. To this day, Sam Walton is regarded as one of the best business leaders of all time and that’s no surprise to me. Why? Because Sam Walton was known for humanizing the experience of working at Walmart.
We should know our colleagues kids names. We should know their cat’s names. We should celebrate our colleagues engagements and personal accomplishments, meet their spouses and understand our teams’ at a human level - it humanizes work and it’s good for business. Business is not family and family comes first - always - but when you treat your business associates like family - it sure does make it easier to build something special.