What is leadership? It is a question that has been asked throughout history, and there is no one answer to it. However, several characteristics are common among leaders who are open-minded. Here we have compiled six of those qualities. We will also talk about the benefits of being such a leader and how it can help you succeed in your career.

Characteristics of an open-minded leader:

• One of the essential qualities of an open-minded leader is the ability to be flexible. This means that they can adapt to changing circumstances and make decisions accordingly. It is vital because it allows leaders to respond quickly to new challenges and opportunities.
• Open-minded leaders practice self-reflection and take engagement in their vision and goals seriously. This is essential because it allows them to be aware of their own biases and limits and learn from past experiences.
• Open-minded leaders possess awareness which allows them to see both sides of every issue, which enables them to make more informed decisions. They are not afraid of change or new ideas, and they are always willing to listen to others.
• Open-minded leaders embrace diversity and can work with people from all walks of life. They understand that everyone has something valuable to contribute, and they are open to hearing new perspectives.
• Additionally, such leaders can take risks and embrace failure. They know that not every decision will succeed, but they are willing to learn from their mistakes. It enhances their creativity and allows them to come up with innovative solutions.
• Open-minded leaders remain respectful even when they disagree with others. They are not quick to anger and can have civil conversations and listen to opposing viewpoints. This is essential because it allows them to understand the other side and find common ground.

Benefits of being an open-minded leader:

It boosts the leader's confidence, which builds trust with the people they are leading.

• The leader can see the "bigger picture" and better understand their team and what they are capable of.
• The leader is always willing to learn new things, which helps them stay updated with the latest trends in their industry.
• Leaders can make better decisions because they can see both sides of every issue, making more informed decisions.
• The leaders can adapt to changing circumstances and make decisions accordingly rapidly. This enhances their critical-thinking abilities.

Overall, openness is vital in leadership because it speaks to what people want and expect from your organization if they are to experience a feeling of ownership and emotional connection. When people know what's going on and, more significantly, when they feel heard, everyone benefits.

Purdeep Sangha
CEO – Sangha Worldwide

P.S. Get your copy of “The Complete Man” book here https://completemanbook.com

According to a report, only about 30% of the family businesses in the US last till the next generation, and 12% till the third. But why? If the family business, be it a small one or a large enterprise, has been successful for one generation, why the succeeding generations do not continue with the same? After all, their parents and founding members have made it so far and took all the challenges to create a smooth transition for their children, right? Then what is it that makes the children somewhat reluctant to join the family business? We will discuss all of this in this post to help you know what is going on in their minds before you decide to hand the business over to them.

Less Freedom of Choice and Decisions

According to the succeeding generations, family businesses do not offer them the freedom of choice when it comes to running the business or making important, critical decisions. The founding members are constantly intruding, monitoring everything, and even telling them what to do and what to avoid. It makes them feel restrained to some extent and they are unable to fulfil their visions, which may not match that of the previous generations.

Even after joining the company and becoming important decision-making members, the children often find their parents meddling with every decision and giving them constant input regarding petty matters. It prevents them from building their confidence and experience. Sometimes, they are also not allowed to take certain calculative risks, which may help business growth. All of these make them feel that they could have done better in some other job, especially in their own ventures.

Not Enough Revenue

Many next-generation members in family businesses complain that they do not make enough money by following the principles laid down by the founding members. That is, if they are unable to change things for the better, or take some risks, the business will never grow, and their revenue will remain the same as that of the last decade. It creates a barrier for growth and development, which is unacceptable by the second and third generations of the family business. Also, the capital that they get from their parents is sometimes not enough to take the business to the next level. There is some kind of possessiveness shown by the founding members that halt new ventures and pathways to enhance revenue generation.

Hence, the succeeding generations feel that they could have made more money if they worked somewhere else and took their ideas to some other business venture apart from the family-owned one. Some members of the next generation also feel that they are underpaid by the founding members, and that they deserve more than their siblings. It fires up jealousy and inferiority complexes, which can be harmful to the company as a whole.

No Work-Life Balance

Unlike jobs and other businesses, family businesses often blur the lines between work and personal life. You may find members discussing business issues at the dinner table, which may not be acceptable to the more conscious and freer-going generations, who understand the consequences of such habits. They may even demand a proper distinction between their home life and life at the office and even refuse to discuss business matters at home. While the founding members can get offended at this, as it has been the way they did business in their times, the succeeding generations can feel trapped and suffocated in their presence. Some of them also get tagged as lazy bones if they say anything against keeping a work-life balance and not discussing business at the dinner table.

Moving From Hometown

It is also one of the significant reasons why many people do not get involved in the family business, especially if it is physically grounded in their hometown. If the business is digital, geographical distances will not matter, but if it is not, one needs to choose between moving to a big city or staying in the hometown to work in the family business. Newer generations are pretty ambitious in their career choices. They do not like to be constricted to a single place. Hence, they tend to move out early in their lives and shape a career of their own. As a result, they cannot get involved in the family business as much as older generations.

Also, leaving your hometown at an early, blooming age, gives you an additional edge to your career. It helps work on your adapting skills and learn new things in life. It also enhances your intelligence and expertise in a certain field, not to forget your overall market experience. Staying in a family business is not reason enough to prevent someone from enhancing his/her career away from the hometown.

Lack Of Common Interest

Sometimes, there is also a lack of differences in the interests between the two generations. While the founding members of a family business might be in commerce and finances, the succeeding generations may have their interests lie elsewhere. They may not even be keen to explore their family business, let alone take it forward. They may be interested in, let’s say, more artistic ventures. They may be creative people, who want to become artists, painters, sculptors, writers, etc. What is the point in forcing them to join the family business? They will not be able to prosper well. After all, every individual has the right to follow his/her dreams, right? This is yet another reason why most succeeding generations are not showing an interest to join the family business.

Not Everyone Is After Money

The current generations have different thinking than the baby boomers. Millennials and Gen-Y people give a lot of thought to where they stand and what they want to do with their lives. It is not all about money and money-making. They want to experience art, craft, be entertained, explore the world, and do exciting stuff that may or may not always be profitable in terms of money. They seek mental peace and satisfaction more than affluence. No wonder most of the current generation of people are more into entrepreneurship and start-ups than jobs!

The same is the case for succeeding generations in a family business. Let us consider a man with an orchard, a family business that gives them good money at the end of every season. What if his son does not want to spend his life in a garden? What if he wants to become an actor or a painter? What if he wants to explore the world, be a digital nomad, and find his calling? It would be wrong to hold him down just because his idea may not seem so lucrative to the father, right? Yes, not everyone is after money, and the founding generations should understand this.

There have been several instances when the board members of a business are asked to write about ten things that they love to do, and they had a tough time doing that. It is because they were so engrossed in the business that they had forgotten about their life on the whole. Newer generations are more conscious about this burnout and try to pave their paths accordingly.

Avoiding Sibling Conflicts

Many people also try to stay away from the family business because they do not want to get into competition with their siblings. In a family business, these things are quite common, especially if there is more than one heir. The siblings may develop rivalry and ultimately turn against each other. It is more evident in a family, where one sibling has to do all the work, because the other one is, let's say, lazier. Even if not lazy, he/she may have his/her hearty in something else other than business. Will the person be deprived of his/her rights if the business gets sold? The working sibling may demand more as he/she has put his/her efforts into the business. This kind of conflict sometimes becomes inevitable and is one of the key reasons why the next generations are not very interested to join the family business.

What Can You Do To Overcome These Challenges?

Well, you can either be the mediator between your kids, or grandkids, who are unwilling to join the business. You can listen to them and help them understand your point as well. You can convince them to start being a small part and if they are interested to explore more, you can give them that opportunity. But mentoring someone in addition to running a full-fledged business can be a headache too. If you are one of the founding members, you get assistance from others. That is why you should hire someone, a mediator or a professional mentor to help convince the next generation or at least help them know why they should be in the family business. The professionals can help them understand the benefits of joining the family business, even if a small role. If they are still not interested, you have nothing to do.

But if you have a chance to level up your family business, why not take it?

All the best!

Purdeep & Harjeet Sangha
Business Brothers

P.S. Upgrade your business leadership skills by getting your copy of “The Complete Man” book by going to www.CompleteManAudio.com

Not all businesses can work the way you want! But then again, not every venture in your life can be a success. The key to preventing large-scale disappointment is to make the most of adverse situations. A business may crash due to various reasons, starting from financial crunches to the lack of proper administration. Selling your business at the right time can help mend the situation to a great extent. If you can sell your business before a crash, you will be able to recoup the losses and start again, if possible. But it can be tricky to know the right time to sell your company. Sometimes, a temporary down period can be easily overcome, while in other times, you may not even prevent a sudden crash, if you do not identify the red flags on time.

In this post, we are going to discuss this issue, as well as provide you with effective suggestions to identify the best time to sell your business and move ahead. But before that, you need to know a few things related to this.

Selling Your Business Is Not Equivalent To Failure

According to experts, less than 5% of business owners even think about the selling part while starting up. They consider it to be a last-minute decision, if the business does not do as well as expected. It is not the right way. You should keep a plan in place, when you begin, so that there is no delay in taking such decisions. Be comfortable while speaking about selling the company, so that you may gain the capital and do something better. It is not equivalent to failure, as many business owners may think.

Yes, for family businesses, it can be a difficult decision, as legacy longevity comes into question. They may want the business to grow and then their children and grandchildren to feed off it. As a result, any discussions or conversations about selling can take a backseat. However, what these people do not think about is, sometimes, selling a poorly-structured business can provide them with the capital that they may invest in something better, more competitive, and upgraded. Selling an old business that is doing well in the market can allow them to try something newer with a greater potential to capture the market.

Hence, business owners should not think about selling as their last option. On the contrary, they can think about selling when the business is at its peak so that they can get maximum value for it.

Think About Selling Before You Sell

As mentioned just above, you should have a selling plan ready before you even decide to sell your business. It is best to seek the help of a professional accountant or financial advisor to know where your business stands at any point in time. You can go for a yearly analysis to decide on the best time to sell your company. Unlike most business owners, who decide to sell their business when it is tanking or they do not have any passion left to run the company, you need to sell your business when it is somewhat at its peak. Try to start a selling conversation 24-36 months in advance, so that when the time comes, you can sell it off without difficulty.

Why Should You Consider Selling Your Business?

You may ask, why sell at all? If you have long-term plans for your business, you may not want to think about the selling part. However, there are certain situations when selling your business may be the best option you have. For example, you may be facing financial issues or lose the passion to do business altogether. Then there may also be personal situations, where you are unable to give enough time to your family because of the business. Selling a business need not only be a result of downtimes or problems in the market. It may be going pretty well but still invite problems in your personal or family life. For example, you are so engrossed in growing the business that you fail to spend time with your family or kids. Further, you may not even be making too much money from the business and cling to it only because of your passion. Well, in such times, selling it for a larger capital can actually help you.

In the case of financial and performance issues, failing to decide to let go at the right time may cause you to sink along with the business. Then there are situations when nothing is going according to the expectations of the business owner. The business may be tanking, as the owner may also not be in a situation to fight for it. He must really feel like letting go. You need to prepare your business for such adverse situations that do not follow any pattern. Therefore, selling should be in your mind always, not as a way to get out of your business but to make the most of critical situations and come out a winner.

Take the COVID situation as an example, many business owners failed to ride out the storm and ended up losing their businesses. Some others lost their passion to run the business. Very few of them have had a financial plan in place to get the most out of the situation. If they had, things would not have been this bad. That is the reason why financial planning should be on every businessperson’s priority discussion list. One should consider situations when the entire market crashes and create plans accordingly to help keep the business afloat or close it on time and move on. Professional advice is indispensable in such matters.

Disputes In The Family

This is another instance when family businesses face critical times. The owner may have built the business for the next generations, but what if they do not want it? There may arise disputes in the family, when some members want to sell the business off, take their shares and start something of their own. Others may wish to carry on. You may end up selling the company to settle the dispute even if it may not even be on your mind. So, why not stay prepared in advance for such unfavorable conditions? It does not take much to seek the help of a professional financial advisor and keep a plan up your sleeve.

Retirement And Other Things

So, you have built a business and grown it with your sweat and blood, but now, no one in your family is interested in taking it over. What do you do then? You sell it, of course! But, what about the value of your business? You can never know the right value of a business, as it can change from time to time, depending on the way it’s run and the market.

There can always be an investor, who may run your business better and earn more profits than you ever did. Why not make the most of that opportunity then? With an open mind, a futuristic vision, and a proper plan, you can always be on the gaining side, when it comes to selling your business. It is best to have a number in your head for selling, irrespective of the condition of the business. You can vouch for that number when it is time to sell. To prevent understating or overstating that number, you can take the help of a chartered business valuator, who will be aware of the potential of your business in terms of ROI and other benefits.

What To Do With The Money After Selling Your Business

Early retirement may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Especially the go-getter. Well, they can. And they can use that money to build something new. They can start a social campaign, or be a philanthropist, whatever they wish. The need for another plan of ‘what to do after’ comes into play here, and one must think of it in advance as well. The owner should not go into depression after selling the business as he did not have a plan ready. Sometimes, it is this fear of the unknown that prevents business owners from selling their company, even if it is the right time. The professional advisors can help here. When you are discussing your selling plan with them, make sure that you start a conversation about what to do after.

If you have a family business, you should also discuss this with other members, who may have contributed to the business or invested shares in it. Such preplanning will prevent questions like, “Why wasn’t I involved in this?” or “Why didn’t you consider my suggestion?” Having a talk with the key members in the company or family, people who might have a say in it, will also help in the decision. It is recommended to keep an open channel of communication always, so that everyone gets to speak their mind regarding the future.

Closing Lines

A business is not just about numbers but many things beyond that. One should consider the emotional aspects as well, especially in the case of family businesses. Open discussions with your family members, partners, and shareholders before you take the crucial decision. It will increase your chances of getting their support in your future endeavors. Also, do not forget to keep your professional advisors in the loop, as there is nothing worse than carrying out a plan with no research or analysis to back it.