11/7/2023 0 Comments Harmony meaning![]() The values of integrity and respect were identified as permission-to-play values – simply those values that were deemed necessary in each of us as a human being to belong to a group. Core values consisted of honesty and generosity. We spent time honing their list of values and breaking them into three of the four components described by Lencioni: core, aspirational and permission-to play. Unfortunately, the group did not have enough trust built up between them to develop the tenacity needed to achieve their aspirational values. It was what they wanted their values to be – what they aspired their values to be – but it wasn’t supported by their behavior. The values of “caring, supportive, togetherness, and respect” simply were not their values in action. Many of the values they had listed were aspirational values. At one point, the siblings hadn’t talked to each other in quite some time. In-laws were perceived as out-laws and the parents had positioned themselves as arbitrators and communication conduits for their children. ![]() This family’s sibling group was mired in competitiveness, hurt feelings and mistrust. The family truly believed in these values but their everyday experiences with each other were in conflict with this vision. One family had spent considerable time on a values exercise coming up with the following list: Many times, when we ask about their values, we get answers like “respect, integrity, honesty.” Sometimes families identify these values, but then don’t live by them on a day-to-day basis. Values in ActionĪs consultants to family business, we often begin our work with families by helping them identify their core values in action terms. When business owning families cultivate and adhere to their core values, they give the company and their family an advantage in prospering over the generations to come. Lencioni asserts that companies which identify, cultivate and adhere to their core values achieve a distinct competitive advantage so, too, can a family. He suggests that there are four different types of values: core values, aspirational values, permission-to-play values and accidental values. Patrick Lencioni argues in “Make Your Values Mean Something” (Harvard Business Review, July 2002) that businesses need to identify their core values. Adhering to common family values can steer the family towards productive behavior and appropriate business decision making. Just as empty business values can create cynical and disheartened employees, so too can empty family values create cynical and mean-spirited family members. It takes real courage and tenacity to make sure future family decisions and actions are based on values. The five steps of the parallel planning process from When Family Businesses Are Best: The Parallel Planning Process for Family Harmony and Business Success.īut identifying and clarifying family values isn’t enough. As Randel Carlock and John Ward state in their book When Family Businesses Are Best: The Parallel Planning Process for Family Harmony and Business Success: “Business interactions are professional and temporal, meaning that plans require clarity and a relatively short time frame family relationships, in contrast, are emotional and last forever.” Structuring Valuesįamily harmony can be aided by focusing on a simple structure to identify and clarify family values and using those values as guideposts in family and business vision, strategy, investment and governance. It does not mean sacrificing the self to be subsumed by the larger whole, without voice or choice. Family harmony does not mean there are no arguments. It means continuous work and constant reflection on actions that keep a healthy connection with the family as a larger unit. What does family harmony mean? It means the ability to trust and support, communicate differences in a constructive manner and look beyond the self (and immediate family) at a broader picture. Family harmony and competitive advantage can result from this alignment. Alignment in vision and values and strong commitment from family members helps business leaders to make tough decisions that will steer the company in an appropriate direction. ![]() Family harmony is a critical component to a strong family business.
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