The challenge of 2nd generation businesses #2

 

Lack of exposure outside of the family business. 

Some 2nd generation business owners started their career in the family business right after graduation. They have never worked for someone else other than family. They have not played the role of just an employee. They have always been the scion, the successor. They have a world view which is different. It gives them different insights, and also comes with limitations and blind spots. 

If this has been your path for the past 20 years, you can't go back to change that. What you can do is to spend time with people who have walked different paths. Not just your employees, but also friends with whom you have no business transactions or business interest. Acknowledge you want to leverage others' experience, and that will save you time and pain.

The challenge of 2nd generation businesses #1

 

Conflict between 2nd generation owners and 1st generation staff. 

If you are the 2nd gen, and these uncles and aunties have known you since you were a kid, it may not be easy for you to ask them to change the way they work. "We have be operating this way for years and we have been fine." It is hard for people who have worked in the same company for 20 years to get out of their comfort zone. Also, some have strong egos. What can a young 2nd gen do? 

Start with the soft approach. Respect the elders. Build relationships and trust. If you have known them for years, it helps with this approach. If you want change, they need time to gain confidence in you. Build your credibility and prove your capability and sincerity before pushing for drastic changes. Let them feel listened to. Despite all the above, you still need to be prepared that some may not be willing to change or may not be capable of change. Then you eventually have to proceed without them. 

Are you using Artificial Intelligence intelligently?

 

AI is here to stay. It is going to help us in many ways, and make life better for us. Unfortunately as we learn to use it, we are now also misusing it in many ways. Do you notice some social media personalities who post very consistently and write long, comprehensive articles? They churn these out regularly, and after a while, you realise it is mostly the same content. You realise you are not reading a social media post, just a generic advertisement. 

I recently had a WhatsApp conversation with a person who found me through a community of business owners. At first I was curious about how he found me and how we could potentially collaborate. However I quickly realised I was talking to an AI bot which had probably scoured some database and found my name amongst many others, and blasted messages to a large group of people to initiate such conversations. 

When we use AI, we have to keep in mind the value we want to create. If what we use it to create is of little value, then we are wasting other people's time. In our busyness and pursuit of efficiency and time-saving, never lose sight of value. 

Do you have a door mat Whatsapp group?

 

Do you have one or several? I am in some WhatsApp groups which are not particularly important. I don't read all the messages. I get those good morning and generic motivational messages. There are many messages in such groups - a lot of noise. Sometimes there is useful information, but the signal-to-noise ratio is low. There is one particular way I use these unimportant groups which stops me from leaving. They are my door mats. Let me explain. 

I use WhatsApp groups and messages heavily in my work. They are my inbox. My to-do list. When messages come in, usually I can read parts of them from the phone notification system. I don't necessary have to open them. I often don't want to open them yet, because a chat group or a chat with another person with unread messages means a task I need to do. I use the unread status as my to-do list. If I read a message, and there is something I need to do about it, I prefer to get it done immediately. For example simply responding to it. Or sometimes I need to get something else done which may take more time. When I can't complete the task immediately, I get a little anxious because that chat is no longer unread. I might forget that I need to do something because there is no unread status to remind me. 

This is how unimportant groups help me. If I read a message snippet from a notification and I know there is something I need to do, but I don't have time yet, I don't open the message. I stay in one of my unimportant groups. I know it is safe to ignore messages from the unimportant group. It is my door mat I can stand on without "dirtying" my other important chats. I don't want to click into my important chats and lose the unread status. 

Does anyone else do this? Or do you use WhatsApp or messaging apps in your own unusual way? 

"Even if you never give up, you may never succeed either."

 

I came across this "motivational video" recently and had a good laugh. We are often flooded with motivational quotes on social media, and this video pokes fun at such quotes. Being a trainer, I am supposed to be positive and encouraging, and I should not be posting such things on my social media. However this "motivational quote" brings out two important points we should think about. 

1. Success is not only about persistence. It is also about working smart and being able to learn. If we are not ready to learn and grow, we may never achieve success because we keep doing the same wrong things. 

2. What is your definition of success? Sometimes you should reexamine that. This sounds like giving up on your original goal, but it is part of learning and growing. With more experience and knowledge, you may find your original goal no longer valid or truly important. Then you must redefine your goal and focus on what is truly important. 

Conducting effective meetings tip #6 - pre-reading

 

Read the materials beforehand. For complex issues, handouts should be distributed beforehand, and everyone is responsible to read them before the meeting. Meeting time should not be spent by the presenter reading a document or a set of slides. You should immediately go into the key discussion points or address clarification questions. If no one has questions or concerns about the proposal, the meeting can end in 15 minutes. Or you don't need to have the meeting. 

Conducting effective meetings tip #5 - the plank meeting

OK this might be a bit extreme. A more common one is the stand-up meeting. You meet while standing, so that the meeting won't go too long. You'd be tired standing so long, not to mention look weird. This is a physical way of forcing yourself to be efficient.