Anyone who works in a family-owned-and-operated business knows that working with siblings and parents can be extremely rewarding. And stressful. Or even both.
Tim Butler, the co-owner of A Royal Flush as well as the company’s chairman of the board and general counsel, knows all too well the risks and rewards of working with siblings. His brother Thomas is the company’s CEO; brother David is the chief financial officer; brother Michael is the chief information officer; and sister-in-law Katie Butler is the senior vice president of marketing for the company based in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
“We also have nieces and nephews that work for the company,” he says.
So how does the family make this work? Butler says it’s challenging because it’s natural for siblings to revert to their childhood roles in the family hierarchy. But it helps if everyone is assigned clearly defined roles.
“When I talk to my twin brother David, for example, I talk to him as the company’s chief financial officer, not my twin brother,” he says. “Roles should be noted in writing so nothing is vague.”
Furthermore, as more siblings joined the company, Butler suggested the company hire a communications expert to counsel them about how to communicate with each other. That was particularly important because everyone had been operating successful businesses before coming on board, he says.
“So we brought in someone who helped us set some guidelines about how to communicate as co-executives of a company instead of just as siblings and family members,” he explains. “It was extremely helpful and I’d suggest that anyone who’s having communication issues bring in an expert. It’s kind of like marriage counseling for siblings in business together.
With 120 employees, A Royal Flush is larger than many restroom companies. But size shouldn’t matter when trying to maintain positive relationships, Butler says.
“A lot of companies do it and there’s no reason why even smaller family-owned companies shouldn’t take advantage of what other companies do.”
Butler says the siblings still meet with the counselor annually.
One key skill the counselor taught them: When you ask for a “deliverable,” confirm with the other person that they understand exactly what the deliverable is and a deadline by which they should provide it. The other party also should confirm that he or she understands what’s involved and will be held accountable for
it, he says.
“It all sounds really simplistic,” Butler continues. “But doing this has been extremely effective and prevented a lot of issues.”
Butler has one more tip for great family-work relationships: Don’t talk about business during family time.
“There’s enough time at work to talk about business instead of doing it at a holiday dinner table or at a ballgame,” he says. “I’ve come to realize and understand that there will always be enough time for work, but never enough time for family. So when you have that family time, you need to make the most of it.”
To learn more about A Royal Flush, read the profile in the current issue of PRO magazine.
