Two-way Communication, With Both Parties Able To Express Themselves On

Two-way communication, with both parties able to express themselves on the most deep-rooted issues and really hear the other, is key to change in a family business. That was the central point of John Messervey's address to the Family Business center, September 9, 1997 at the Springfield Sheraton. Messervey, of the National Family Business Council in Lake Forest, Illinois, believes that nearly every family business will benefit by changeand that those who attended are ready to catalyze that process: "You are here because you want something to change." The specifics will vary from business to business; in recent cases, Messervey encountered these desires: a son wanted his father to invest in a new project; a mother was accused by her child of meddling; a sibling looked for ways to prevent his brother from antagonizing key employees; another sibling was asked to "quit pretending she's working." Messervey's analysis concentrated on the family, which he sees as "the prototype for all organization; business patterns are just an extension" of the roles played out in family dynamics. In every family there will be "customers for change"those who stand to benefit from upsetting the applecart, often the family scapegoats or those who feel disenfranchised. But there are also "guardians of the status quo," who like things just the way they are and vigorously protect their turf. One of Messervey's clients compared change in his family to "bowling in sand." Every family has its own set of myths, roles, and rules or customs. But at the same time, there are "secrets" and "unspeakables"; these hidden shames are the action points for change To demonstrate, Messervey showed a short clip from "Prince of Tides," showing a sharply dysfunctional family. Nick Nolte plays a husband who blocks his wife's every attempt to bring up important issues. But at the same time, he and his own mother have some serious unfinished business to take care ofdeep and dark "unspeakables"which causes every interaction between them to run up against a wall of mutual hostility. In Nolte's fictional family, as in any other, those who are ignored find a way to act out and be noticed. And since family members know better than anyone else how to hit the "hot buttons" that will get a reaction from other family members, the stakes can be pretty high. When you know how to get someone really furious, you run the risk of starting a long-lasting feud that could run for decades. But Messervey comments, "they must have really cared for each other; you don't fight if you don't care." He believes many of the silly disagreements among family members are "to add heat. Over time, all relationships cool." These little sparks are a way to keep the relationship fresh and interesting, even after a half-century or more, as Messervey demonstrated with a second video clip, from "For Better or For Worse"where, despite 56 years of happy marriage, a couple still can't let go of an ancient minor argument. But that family was able to openly air their disagreement. In families with deeper problems, attempts at communication are continuously rebuffed. Messervey quoted sociologist Carl Whittaker's book, The Family Crucible: Why, in spite of a genuine desire to change, does a family hold backIf a family has tried repeatedly to change and has met only pain and failure, making still another attempt can have frightening overtonesWhat if they really tryand fail again? What is left except utter despair? The family cringes in fear; they fight against the change which they know they must attempt. But don't confuse fear by disempowered family members of initiating change with resistance to change by those who will lose power: that resistance, says Messervey, is a sign that things are working. Change is imminent and the guardians of the status quo are desperately trying to block it. They feel the pressure, the need to acknowledge the issues; the call for change can no longer be simply swept under the rug. In fact, the rug is bulging so high off the floorto stretch the metaphor a bit fartherthat someone had better do something before there's a liability suit to contend with. Some families have ignored so many little issues that, like a dense forest that needs a huge fire to clean out Two-way Communication, With Both Parties Able To Express Themselves On Two-way communication, with both parties able to express themselves on the most deep-rooted issues and really hear the other, is key to change in a family business. That was the central point of John Messervey's address to the Family Business center, September 9, 1997 at the Springfield Sheraton. Messervey, of the National Family Business Council in Lake Forest, Illinois, believes that nearly every family business will benefit by changeand that those who attended are ready to catalyze that process: "You are here because you want something to change." The specifics will vary from business to business; in recent cases, Messervey encountered these desires: a son wanted his father to invest in a new project; a mother was accused by her child of meddling; a sibling looked for ways to prevent his brother from antagonizing key employees; another sibling was asked to "quit pretending she's working." Messervey's analysis concentrated on the family, which he sees as "the prototype for all organization; business patterns are just an extension" of the roles played out in family dynamics. In every family there will be "customers for change"those who stand to benefit from upsetting the applecart, often the family scapegoats or those who feel disenfranchised. But there are also "guardians of the status quo," who like things just the way they are and vigorously protect their turf. One of Messervey's clients compared change in his family to "bowling in sand." Every family has its own set of myths, roles, and rules or customs. But at the same time, there are "secrets" and "unspeakables"; these hidden shames are the action points for change To demonstrate, Messervey showed a short clip from "Prince of Tides," showing a sharply dysfunctional family. Nick Nolte plays a husband who blocks his wife's every attempt to bring up important issues. But at the same time, he and his own mother have some serious unfinished business to take care ofdeep and dark "unspeakables"which causes every interaction between them to run up against a wall of mutual hostility. In Nolte's fictional family, as in any other, those who are ignored find a way to act out and be noticed. And since family members know better than anyone else how to hit the "hot buttons" that will get a reaction from other family members, the stakes can be pretty high. When you know how to get someone really furious, you run the risk of starting a long-lasting feud that could run for decades. But Messervey comments, "they must have really cared for each other; you don't fight if you don't care." He believes many of the silly disagreements among family members are "to add heat. Over time, all relationships cool." These little sparks are a way to keep the relationship fresh and interesting, even after a half-century or more, as Messervey demonstrated with a second video clip, from "For Better or For Worse"where, despite 56 years of happy marriage, a couple still can't let go of an ancient minor argument. But that family was able to openly air their disagreement. In families with deeper problems, attempts at communication are continuously rebuffed. Messervey quoted sociologist Carl Whittaker's book, The Family Crucible: Why, in spite of a genuine desire to change, does a family hold backIf a family has tried repeatedly to change and has met only pain and failure, making still another attempt can have frightening overtonesWhat if they really tryand fail again? What is left except utter despair? The family cringes in fear; they fight against the change which they know they must attempt. But don't confuse fear by disempowered family members of initiating change with resistance to change by those who will lose power: that resistance, says Messervey, is a sign that things are working. Change is imminent and the guardians of the status quo are desperately trying to block it. They feel the pressure, the need to acknowledge the issues; the call for change can no longer be simply swept under the rug. In fact, the rug is bulging so high off the floorto stretch the metaphor a bit fartherthat someone had better do something before there's a liability suit to contend with. Some families have ignored so many little issues that, like a dense forest that needs a huge fire to clean out