No company can afford to let such a person keep everyone and everything in constant turmoil because it diverts too much time and energy from getting the company's real work done. Dealing successfully with conflict within the family business includes putting a stop to pointless bickering or disagreement that can't produce a positive change in how things are done. It also involves laying down guidelines to prevent disagreement from escalating into sustained open warfare. Every family business should have a written manual of policies and procedures, and that's a good place to define how differences between family members who are owners or employees of the business are to be resolved. Having clear guidelines on family business conflict resolution is a way of controlling conflict's potential destructiveness without squelching the exchange of ideas.
Nobody expects a normal family never to disagree around the kitchen table.
So family members in business together should feel free to disagree around the conference table. But for the sake of both business interests and family harmony, conflict in the family business should be kept out in the open and constructive. Earliest info on new businesses, homeowners Insurance Center Covering the needs of small business owners Legal Center Hundreds of business legal tools Office Products Special deals on equipment, supplies. Classifieds Search for business services, real estate and career opportunities.