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Your management questions, answered This month, a reader seeks advice on how to integrate his son into the engineering firm, with plans to eventually have him take over and run the business. O P I N I O N
SON AS SUCCESSOR Dear Christy
HAVE MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS YOU NEED ANSWERED? Dear Christy is THE ZWEIG LETTER ’s newest column, a place for industry leaders to anonymously submit their most pressing leadership, management, finance, marketing, or human relations questions. Each month, submissions will be answered in print, so that the entire A/E/P and environmental consulting industry can benefit from the shared experiences and information highlights. Have a question you need answered? Email Christy Zweig at christinaz@zweiggroup.com or send your letter to Zweig Group, P.O. Box 1528, Fayetteville, AR 72702. Even if letters are signed or if emails contain the writer’s name, all entries will be kept confidential and published anonymously.
“I have a son who is in engineering school. I’d really like to have him join our firm and eventually succeed me in running this business. How do you suggest I make that happen?” —Getting
Christina Zweig DEAR CHRISTY
Old in Omaha. Dear Omaha,
I know from personal experience that working with family members can be very tough, but it happens relatively frequently in the A/E industry and many firms are able to do it successfully.
I’d start with your son. Is this something he is interested in? Firms can grow and change, but if your son really wants to go into earthquake mitigation work and your firm has done mostly local street design and residential plans, it may not be a good match. Additionally, if you want your son to take over the business he also has to have the personality to e ff ectively manage people and the desire and ability to market and sell your firm’s services. Basic business skills like accounting, organization, and an eye for detail don’t hurt either. If your dreams do align, I’d recommend the following: “When your son does come to work at your firm, don’t immediately give him the nicest office, extra privileges, and a company car. Make sure he is held to the exact same standard as everyone else.” z Make sure your son does an internship or works elsewhere for some amount of time. Coming straight out of school and into the workplace can be an eye-opening transition for many people. If your son works elsewhere he inevitably will learn things from management approaches to technology that will improve your firm. If you’re lucky he will appreciate the work you’ve put into creating a good environment and be thankful. An outside perspective will be
invaluable in the future. z When your son does come to work at your firm, don’t immediately give him the nicest o ffi ce, extra privileges, and a company car. Make sure he is held to the exact same standard as every- one else, particularly other people who have had similar tenures at the firm and experience in the industry. When I started working for my father here at Zweig Group, he counseled me early on that I had more to prove than other employees and should be the first person to arrive and the last one to leave. z Make sure your family members don’t out num- ber other people in the rest of the organization. If you want to have a successful firm that grows and thrives, don’t hire every family member who wants a job. It will become impossible to manage in an unbiased way and may create an environ- ment that is awkward and un-inclusive for other employees. z Make sure your son has full support from the leadership and management team of your firm. Trust takes time to build. You will destroy your organization from the inside out if you place your son at the top of the organization chart and immediately have senior people reporting to him. z Keep the work at work and the family stu ff at home. It’s harder than it seems, but your work- place and family will thank you for it. z Don’t immediately publicize your desire to
See DEAR CHRISTY, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER March 7, 2016, ISSUE 1142
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