Working in a family business can be rewarding, but it also comes with its unique set of challenges. There’s one thing (ok, so there’s a bajillion things) my favorite brother does that makes me crazy!
He doesn’t separate his business calendar from his personal one.
I manage the work calendar. I book the conference calls and the speeches. What’s got me on a roll this morning is our WORK calendar is filled with “Miracle Morning Time” — a 10-minute, every morning thing with his church the entire month of December. And this is just ONE example.
I want to fly to Vegas just to slap him around a bit. I’ve bitched about this going on 20 years now so it’s not going to change. Obviously.
And it’s an easy fix. He could use his .mac or personal gmail account for all his personal stuff. Work email and calendar entries are for work — personal for personal. I’ll bet you don’t use your work email for personal stuff. I don’t need a weekly reminder that he needs to take out his trash for pick-up. I don’t need his BS filling up my work space calendar so much that I can’t see 3 days ahead in itinerary view. ðŸ˜
My subordinates also make for a difficult work environment.
My colleagues not only leave things where they don’t belong, but they get things dirty and leave me to clean it up. (Note the bottom of the window covered in dirty dog spit in the photo above.)
Pitfalls are common in family businesses, but here I am… still navigating the challenges.
Now you know: Malignant Hyperthermia is a deadly reaction to general anesthesia. It’s inherited and is the reason anesthesiologists always ask if anyone in the family has had a fatal reaction to anesthesia.