I have worked with so many families, some of whom get along, others not so much. The differences were often not with the underlying business because in most cases, the businesses were profitable and operating well. If I were to identify why the difference? The degree of communication and building trust.

This pandemic has not helped. We turtled into our family bubbles and tried to operate businesses remotely. In many cases, especially in the hard hit hospitality sector, this environment sadly shuttered many businesses. Others barely hung on with the government wage and other subsidies available. Survival was the main goal, short and medium term.

My observed glimmer of good that has developed from the pandemic is that families had to be together 24/7 and had to all pitch in to help the business make it through this time – not yet ended. And the result, much more communication opportunities. Much of the time that we had together was spent in our respective cyber worlds – however, the simple act of having a meal together began many conversations.

Communication, good and challenging was abundant in my family. I relearned how to prepare a meal, the planning and the learning to enjoy the process of cooking. And once prepared, we would then dine together as a family where we could share family, personal and other often interesting stories. I really got to know my daughter much more than I did over the last 5 years; seeing her need for meaningful time with grandparents and the value of spending time with family. It was heartwarming to see that she embraced the values that we (hopefully) demonstrated.

Trust –this is something earned and not demanded. The mere act of relying on each other much more over the last 500+ days, I believe was a building block for greater trust. Time together, if spent productively, can be the necessary time to build that trust.

So how does this apply to your family enterprise? It takes an explicit effort to build communication bridges. Time is the first element to allow us to have those meaningful conversations. And for now, we continue to have time in abundance. Readiness = Planning for those opportunities and having one or two topics at hand. If you are seeking inspiration for discussion topics, go to Kalina Silverman’s website, Big Talk. Link to Make Big Talk

Learn, consider, apply!