Relationships require work. This is as true for families as it is for businesses and is doubly true for family businesses. In Canada, the most recent Rogers family business drama has captivated the nation even more than the turmoil surrounding the Stronach family business empire. Eleven million Canadians are Rogers customers after all. Of course, Canada is hardly alone when it comes to family business quarrels. Earlier this year, the Economist chronicled “explosive” family feuds in Germany’s powerhouse companies (surprisingly calling them surprising), and the New York Times highlighted some of the relational struggles of American family firms. Family businesses are also a key feature of the Japanese economy, possibly even holding the record for longevity - the Takenaka construction company, for example, goes back to the year 1610.

Since writing Influencing Powerful People (IPP) 10 years ago, I have become somewhat of a “conversation coach.” I teach “difficult conversations in the boardroom” at the University of Toronto’s Directors Education program, I act as a sounding board and advisor for those getting ready for a difficult conversation with a powerful person, and I have these conversations myself (a good reminder of how hard this really is). Despite all my exposure to the topic, I have not found the “three sure-fire steps to win every argument.” But I have learned more about it: I have seen the difference between what others and I thought would happen and what did happen; I had the opportunity to debrief (sometimes in great detail) on what worked well, what was insufficient and what backfired; and I got to reflect on what should be a lesson for next time. Most of what I wrote in “IPP Rule 15” remains valid, but here are some insights that stand out after careful inspection, reflection, and application. Most of this takes the perspective of an executive “talking to the boss.” For a recent review of persuasion techniques from an external advisor perspective please have a look at Lothar Determann’s earlier contribution to our IPP 2.0 series.

“I don’t have time for this.” This cry of exasperation sums up the frustration when senior executives or board members find themselves drawn into conflict among their people. This includes conflict among peers, leaders vs their direct reports, or between regional or functional champions. “Don’t they realize they are on the same team?” And yet internal conflict has more potential to be toxic than squabbles with outsiders be they competitors, suppliers and even customers. Left unattended, internal conflict can become all consuming, paralyze the organization, and poison relationships. Once it spirals out of control, you will have to make time, whether you like it or not. Bad conflict prioritizes itself so to speak.

What is the new normal, and how do we adapt? A White Paper on implementing a successful work from home model in any industry.

By Jaye Cabreros*

You may remember our previous article discussing the benefits of implementing a WHF policy at your workplace. 11 months into the pandemic, and with more data on our hands, we are able to address the major barriers to WFH and how to overcome them. Jaye Cabreros is a research consultant for Jenoir® International and has analyzed the factors required for a successful WFH model in the blog below, as well as the attached full White Paper.

With the global pandemic showing no signs of reversal, any significant quality of life improvement is unlikely to arise until a sizeable majority of the world's population is vaccinated. It is also unlikely, then, that the global workforce will see any wholesale regressions towards a pre-pandemic work arrangement any time soon.

When it comes to national embarrassments, one would be hard pressed to do better than Berlin Brandenburg Airport (FBB), or known by its IATA airport code BER. The “new” international airport of Germany’s national capital opened, on the down-low so to speak, on November 1st, 2020. The quietness of the affair had good reason: BER started operations 9 years late and billions over budget; plans for the airport had actually begun as early as 1990, the year of German reunification making this a, no typo, 30-year airport building project.