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in a sales office in another city some distance from the pany39。s headquarters where he will be under the supervision of a top producer. Another alternative is to change his attitude by formal or informal key is to see that the nontalented relative does not affect the relationship that you, the manager, have with other members of your staff. Other employees will respect you for keeping relatives in line.Strange things sometimes happen. There is always the chance that the nontalented relative may be under your direction and turn into an asset for your pany.Is NonFamily Turnover High?Some familyowned panies are plagued with a high turnover among their nonfamily other cases, top notch managers and workers leave because promotions are closed to them because they see your relatives being pushed into executive offices.The exit interview is a useful device for getting at the root of this type of turnover. A key employee who has decided to leave may be eager to tell you the true story—or at least enough of the facts to help you develop a course of a manager has the facts, he or she may have to confront the troublecausing relative with an unpleasant story. What es out of the confrontation is anyone39。s guess. Rare is the ownermanager who can fire a troublesome and close relative and make it stick. One way to remove such a thorn from the side of key executives is to help the relative start a business in a nonpeting line—provided he or she has the management ability that is necessary for success. Another way is to exile him or her to a branch office or find a job with another pany.Spending to Save Money?Many times, as the ownermanger you feel that you must make an expenditure to improve efficiency, yet other family members oppose the expenditure because they view it as an expense rather than an investment. They feel that funds spent for items, such as more efficient equipment, encroach on their yearend dividends.One way to help these relatives see that you have to spend money to make money is to base your arguments for the expenditures on fact and figures that nonfamily employees have gathered. Suggest to the opposing family members that the matter be settled on a cold dollar basis。 for example, by spending money for this machine, we can increase profits and get our money back in four years.If the opposing relatives refuse to accept your projection, try calling in outside business advisors. Relatives will sometimes believe advisors, such as your banker, accountant, or attorney, when they won39。t accept your judgment. But keep in mind that outside advisors who are personally close to other family members, should not be included among your consultants can also be useful in proving the worth of an expenditure. Such help is particularly valuable on specialized projects that require more research than you or your regular advisors have time to do.Status Quo Blocks GrowthWhen some of the relatives in a familyowned business grow older, they develop an attitude of status quo. They don39。t want things to change and are afraid of risk. With this attitude, they can, and often do, block growth in their family39。s business.The solution to such a problem is to urge or suggest that the status quo members slowly disappear from the scene of operation. One way to do this is to dilute their influence in management decisions. For example, the status quo relatives might be given the opportunity to convert their stock in the corporation to preferred stock。 or they might sell some of their stock to the younger might also be possible for the status quo relatives to think in terms of gradual retirement. Their salaries can be reduced over several years, and they can relinquish some of their interests. With the proper legal advice, it might be possible for a small corporation to recapitalize. A new partnership agreement might be drawn up when the pany is a partnership.Such action can take into account all the growth of the business to that particular point and can enable the retreating members to recover their equity. Meanwhile, the manager and active relatives can renew their efforts toward expanding the business.How Is the Pie Divided?Paying family members and dividing profits among them can also be a difficult affair. Many persons feel that they are underpaid, but what about relatives who ment as follows: Uncle Jack sits around and gets more than I do. Aunt Sue goes to Europe on the returns of money her husband put into the business before he died ten years ago. Your brother goofs off and rakes in more than you do. How do you resolve such plaints? You don39。t entirely。 but if the business is a small corporation, certain equalizing factors can be acplished by stock dividends. By recapitalizing the pany, some stockholders can take preferred stock with dividends.Salaries are best handled by being petitive with those paid in the area. Find out what local salary ranges are for various management jobs and use these ranges as a guide for paying both family and nonfamily personnel. When you tie pay to the type of work that the individual does, you can show disgruntled relatives the value that the industry puts on their benefits can also be useful in dividing profits equitably among family members. Benefits, such as deferred profit sharing plans, pension plans, insurance programs, and stock purchase programs, offer excellent ways to placate disgruntled members of the family and at the same time help them to build their personal assets.How the pie is divided is vital to growth in a small business. Profits are the seedbed for expansion, and lenders are influenced by what is done with profits. What banker wants to lend a pany a substantial amount when its earned surplus is drained off by relatives?Where Do You Go for Money?Another major problem in managing a family business is that of obtaining money for growth. Generally speaking if the pany is profitable, yo