SITUATION
Though they are brothers, you might not know it by watching them interact. Even a single ;Good morning; at the start of a workday seems to be more than any one can manage. No one is happy to be at the office. The three Patton brothers-John, Richard. and Bill-have been in business together for 25 years. running the janitorial services company that was started by their father. Most of the years were happy ones, but the good tines hare now faded Tito distant memory. What could have gone so wrong? The conflict started when the founders grandchildren got involved in the business. Today Johns oldest son manages the employees who work with residential ac-counts. Richard&s daughter does most of the bookleeping, and Bills son is an outside salesperson for The company. Despite differences in their personal goats and interests. and even in their long term vision for the company. the cousins get abng very well.
But the Patton brothers disagree about who should lead the company in the future. As the oldest brother with the most experience in the business. John believes his son is best positioned to take over the reins of the company when the tine comes. but Richard and Bill realize that this means opportunities for their IDs will be limited. Bill is convhced that his son shows more man-agerial promise than his nephew. and Reheard beeves' that his daughter is underpaid and underappredated. even though she is ;obviously the fnancial mind be-hind the machine. This is no small matter to the Patton brothers. Carly on. the arguments became so heated that the brothers neatly came to blows. Today. the disagreements are most& unspoken. Though the business is in no invnediate danger of fail. ing. it has not been doing all that wed durhg the last 18 months or so. More importantly the Patton brothers need to male some major decisions that will position the company for the future. but these are be hg ne-gCcted as the brothers conthue their war of sience.
Under the circumstances. progress is impossible. What can be done to get this family business back on track?
1. Why do you think the cousins get along better than their fathers do?
2. How might this conflict over the future leadership of the firm be resolved?