We all know the importance of holding regular family meetings, no matter what the size of business. Growing up, it was the cuppa tea around the kitchen table.
One thing I really give cudos to, is that Jeremy’s parents, Brendon & Averil Hawkes, were very proactive in this manner. Before I was a part of Bowhill Engineering, back in the late 90’s they were already disciplined into holding monthly Board Meetings – 2 parents, 2 sons – and most meetings had tears & sometimes tantrums. It’s not easy having difficult conversations and most people stick their head in the sand. It’s a learned practice, at TEC (The Executive Connection) we call it “carefrontation” – having the courage to ask about what really matters.
With families it’s even harder, especially when the partners start getting involved! A once “seemingly” easy flow between brothers, suddenly becomes unsettled, which is always seen as the wives fault… we didn’t have these issues before XXX came along! The reality behind this scenario, was that there were most likely topics that were not discussed previously, transparency is hard, fairness is not equal, but working through these issues proactively is certainly better than pretending they don’t exist.
Then there’s the scenarios where someone dies without a will. We’ve been in that situation with the loss of my brother in-law Simon. Jeremy’s brother, business partner & our best friend. That’s a whole other blog, but my take-away is to never leave someone you love in this situation. Get your shit organised today.
As Bowhill Engineering has grown, we have transitioned from first generation to second, our Advisory Board has been set up and running with external board members for nearly 10 years, but there was a gap. Bren & Averil still wanted to be involved, but we all weren’t sure what the next step was. Our Advisory Board Chair, Kristian Livolsi, suggested we have a monthly Shareholder Dinner with both the parents and our kids… a way to keep them all informed of the progress of Bowhill Engineering, but separating it from the operations and the Advisory Board. This has been a huge success.
Our Shareholders Monthly meeting is reasonably informal, we always share a good meal and we get the kids to set the Agenda and run the meeting. We answer any questions they have and we reward the kids for being interested and involved. We are teaching them, that they do not have to be directly involved in the business as an employee, they are free to pursue their own dreams & desires, but they can still be involved at shareholder or board level if they so choose. It’s our family business, we wish to retain this for as long as we can.
Not only are the kids getting to learn how the business is going. They are learning skills that are important for running any business. The language & terminology, the ups & downs of business, the importance of cashflow, managing people is hard, we need to be prepared for risks/disruption… all the same topics that generally are covered within any business.
We’ve always supported our kids to show them we value effort over ability. We pay them for chores based on their attitude and quality of work, not just the job they’ve done. Their school reports have been rewarded on effort over achievement. At Boweng we believe in hiring for the right fit, based on behaviours & values, over skill (which a quick learner will pick up anyway).
Some of the highlights of these meetings over the years… I challenge you all to think of the wonderful learnings that came from these funnies…
- Cameron, aged 13, as Chair for the meeting, wrote down all the things he wanted to talk about, then he asks me, “mum, what’s an Agenda”….
- Molly, aged 15 (at the time) as Chair decided to resign because the financials weren’t looking as promising as she would have liked. She didn’t think her effort would be rewarded!
- We asked the kids what was more important when hiring someone new….
Molly said it was all about their resume, having the right skills & abilities, we were proud of her understanding in this area, then Cameron said it was more about the person, their values and their drive to succeed, and we were blown away that he even understood this concept! - Zoe, the hardest part about being Chair is getting mum and dad available at the same time to have the meeting!
To close, we always start our meetings with a prayer, we thank the Lord for the opportunity to be together as a family, we give thanks for our blessings and we ask the Lord for guidance to support each other on our learning journeys.
Our family is blessed, we have so much to be thankful for. Running a business is not easy or stress free. By being courageous and creating the environment that gives the stakeholders the opportunities to be involved and encourage them to ask the hard questions allows for nipping things in the bud before they become bigger issues. My question to you is, what questions are you too scared to ask?
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