Picture the Tom Hanks scene from A League of Their Own where the coach frustratingly tells the player, “There’s no crying in baseball!” It’s a great scene and a great coaching moment.
Now picture me talking as the coach to so many of the family business players I’ve had the opportunity work with that can get emotionally overwhelmed with the family business dynamics.
Picture me saying. “There’s no crying in family business!”
There really shouldn’t be any crying in family business! I know difficult situations in business can feel personal and become personal and even elicit an emotional response from family members. I get it. I even experienced being hurt first hand when I worked in our family business.
What I’m trying to encourage my players to understand is that the source of all of your suffering comes from your thinking. Logically you’re thinking you believe that things should be fair and reasonable in business but quite often they aren’t.
Family business decisions are made and action is taken based upon ownership percentages and from people who are in the leadership position. In business and life sometimes things don’t go the way you wanted them to go, or the ball bounces the wrong way, or you have a leader or manager who doesn’t see it your way.
So go ahead and be a bit angry and upset but only allow yourself to marinate in those emotions for a short period of time. If you still think something should be reconsidered, then make sure you can create a compelling, persuasive argument for your cause. Even then you might be disappointed with the outcome.
You need to realize that life is not always fair. It should be your goal to design your life in a way that works for you and spend your time with people and situations that are personally rewarding and fulfilling.
There’s no crying in family business! Now get back in the game and let me know if I can help!