Chapter 9
Key nonfamily management: the visible commitment to managing the family business professionally.
The perspective of nonfamily managers * The “Discovery Action Research Project” on family business found that non family managers tended to regard their families positively; in fact most would like to see the companies continue as family business. Despite the positive attitude, the study identified several problems in the relationships between owners and nonfamily managers. The differences uncover in the study represent imporatant challenges , offering significant opportunities to owner-managers to improve the motivation and performance of their top employees. That is the subject of a number of suggestions and actionable recommendations in this chapter.
A Delicate Balance * Balancing the sometimes competing demands of family and business is a challenge for nonfamily managers- “owners have given me much responsibility” – “Now the delicate balance is between performance in what they hired me to do and keeping the chemistry going with the family”. * Key nonfamily managers are expected to keep up to date with professional management practices and be solid contributors in executive, functional and project areas. Staying current is the best antidote to concerns that nepotism may have an influence on career opportunities. The complexity of getting the job done, however, is compounded in a family firm by the need to skillfully manage the relationships with family members. * In the case of family business, nonfamily managers would be well served by behaving as if success requires special attention to tasks, employee relations and relations with family members. The following chart (figure 9) shows these primary business concerns of nonfamily managers.

Career opportunities for nonfamily managers * Career opportunities for both family and