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One of the patterns that threaten many family businesses is a waning sense of urgency and competitive fire in future generations.
It’s human nature. The founders fought for their survival in the early years of the business. Successive generations are raised with a certain amount of affluence and financial security. They’ve never experienced the feeling of “fighting for your life” in business. While this is a wonderful byproduct of great founders it can also rob future generations of an important business mindset.
I was really fortunate to have found some of my grandfather’s letters from the 1920s that chronicle the trials and tribulations of Walsh Bros., our 89-year-old family business. Reading about how my grandfather was watching every penny helped me appreciate what it took to get past the survival phase in a successful business.
It’s the current generation’s job as leaders to foster and maintain a competitive mindset in the upcoming generations. Why? Because business is highly a competitive sport and today’s champions can quickly become tomorrow’s “has-beens”.
So how do you create that competitive mindset? How do you make sure family members keep a healthy level of urgency?
I keep going back to Major league baseball and spring training. Even the most successful, highly talented professionals go back to the basics every March. As a family you need to create rituals and exercises that build a competitive mindset. Like everything else it’s a muscle that needs to be trained.
We have a deliberate practice that makes the family reflect upon its own competitive mindset, as well as the competitive landscape of the business. They have to identify a few new activities to keep building the muscle. For free full access to the detailed instructions in our deliberate practice click here.
There are many different ways to foster a competitive mindset. As a leader in the family business, keep getting creative and inventive about how you keep the competitive fire alive in the up and comers!