Keeping Your Family Business Out of Holiday Celebrations

Being part of a family business can be both rewarding and difficult. Unfortunately, at no time is the difficult side more obvious than when the family gathers for the holidays. As human beings we want to catch up on things when we are together, and all it takes is Uncle George asking, “How’s the business going ?” to take the entire room to a discussion on the family business. In the absence of restraint, the conversation around your holiday dinner table can become about who’s responsible for what, what’s going right, and what’s going wrong in your business. Quickly, your head becomes mired in work, instead of being present to the people in the room and your love and care for each other.To keep your family’s business out of your holiday gatherings, everyone has to agree to be together as a family, not as business partners. And why shouldn’t you be? Your relationships are ultimately about who you are, who you be, and your love for others, not the work you do!Keeping the business chatter at your gatherings to a minimum, at the very least, is a test in an often stressful time. But, if you will commit to being about your care for your family members and your relationships with them, then putting the family business aside comes much easier than you think. So, when Uncle George asks, “How’s the business going?” give a short and polite reply and change the subject. Not only will you spare yourself from having your family business be a part of your family holiday celebration, but you will also spare the rest of your family from having it invade their holiday too!