It's a fact. Many family businesses have had serious internal strife within the owning family - and yet the business has survived.
The British monarchy is an extreme example:
Queen Elizabeth I and her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, were fierce adversaries. They never met, but Elizabeth arranged for Mary to have her head chopped off after Mary was found guilty of participating in a murder plot against her cousin.
The Royal House, known in recent times as "The Firm", famously survived.
Manage your problems
When a family owns and runs a business together, power struggles and personal disagreements can arise. Just like in any other business. It's natural - and it doesn't have to lead to business ruin.
But that doesn't mean that internal turmoil, instability and the bad publicity that comes with it strengthens a company.
On the contrary.
Both the company and the family will be better served if issues are addressed before conflicts erupt and escalate.
What you can do as a family
As members of a family of owners, you can each do something to prevent the dispute from flaring up:
✅Always consider family and business interests before speaking or acting in crucial situations, but be aware of your own and other family members' individual limits and needs.
✅Afterwards, be ready to take a critical look at your own actions, even if you can't always see in the moment what YOU might have done wrong.
✅Be open and honest with other family members when you feel that one of them has wronged you.
Everyone must work constructively
The advice assumes that the owner family is willing to work constructively with relationships and communication between family members.
If that's not the case, you as a family must work towards fulfilling that condition - whether you run an industrial business, a shop or a royal house together.
Read also about salaries as a source of conflict in family ownership.
