Fresh cup of hot coffee on one side, a pup lying at my feet, and a beautiful sunrise on the horizon. This past week, our family has spent a week in the NC mountains, and taking some time away from work + out in a peaceful place, it’s allowed me to do some thinking + reflecting.
One of those reflections? As much as I’d sometimes like to, I can’t fire my sister.
From the time I was born, whether I liked it or not, she was always going to be part of my life. Bossing me around. Teaching me good (and some not-so-good) behaviors. Setting the bar for certain expectations of me from our parents, teachers, and others based on how she was at my age.
And no matter what I do or she does, we can’t fire one another.
Since 2023, about 330,000 people have been “laid off”. And I’m willing to bet that a significant portion of the companies who laid those individuals off have referred to themselves as a “family” at some point or another.
Starting to see where I’m going with this?
I’m going to keep it short this week as I’m sure our little one will be waking before long.
Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking more and more about the disconnect I’m hearing in companies calling themselves “families,” meanwhile laying off hundreds or thousands of employees.
Look, I fully get it that business is tough and there are times where companies haven’t planned well, met expectations, or some highly unfortunate event meant they had to take drastic measures to get back in the black.
The issue I have is when they continue to call themselves a “family”. It’s setting the wrong expectations.
High-level sports team > family
At our company, I’ve never heard our team members referred to as family. Is that cold? Is that callous? Or is it setting better expectations for team members and leadership? I think it’s this last one.
Why? Because we’re all aligned in that…
We’re here to accomplish a job
We understand that teammates will come and go
We understand that we have to perform at a high level if we want to keep our place in the starting lineup
We understand that employee development is more impactful long-term than buying a bunch of expensive all-stars
We understand that no one “star” player is worth ruining the dynamic or morale of the team over
The best teams are incredibly close to one another and create bonds for life, but understand that it's different from being a family.
And this is also how they always attract and retain top talent so easily.
If you’ve been at an organization like this, you know what I’m talking about + the feeling it provides you with. For those who haven’t, it’s honestly a great feeling, not one to be scared or anxious about.
And I know these are the only types of companies I’ll work for for the rest of my career.
Two books I’ve been enjoying this week
I’m a big fan of reading two books at a time. Not because it allows for me to read more books (it actually slows me down), but because I like to read non-fiction or biographies in the morning and to wind down with fiction in the evening.
Biography
As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty
This autobiography is written by Getty himself as he reflects back on his life, lessons learned, and opinions on various topics. Well written and insightful as he’s not the typical “rags to riches” story, but specifically calls out that he grew up with certain advantages that others didn’t and made sure not to squander them.
Fiction
The Huntress
This book was recommended to me by a peer of mine (S/O to JJ Jeffries) and hasn’t disappointed. Fiction, non-fiction, biographies, you name it, anything written about the WWII era has always captured my interest. I’m still about 150 pages from finishing this one, but I can tell it’s only going to get better and better as I near the end.
See you next Saturday,
Sam