Jon Kenfield, Author at The Solutionist Group

“Family Business” … makes no sense! Introduction (Part 2)

(sans knowledge, focus, skills, and discipline) Conflict (noun): “a serious disagreement or argument between people with opposing views, opinions, values or principles – often over a protracted period”. Conflict (verb): “different, incompatible, at variance, opposing, clashing”. There is no family on the planet, now or ever, that entirely avoids conflict between its members. That’s not, […]

“Family Business” … makes no sense! Introduction (Part 1)

(sans knowledge, focus, skills, and discipline). Introduction (Part 1) Every family business has a business family sitting behind it, but the basic concept behind “Family Business” actually makes no sense, because every commercial driver needed to make a good business conflicts with the human success factors that make families happy: This creates a huge conundrum: […]

Navigating Family Dynamics in Business: Brothers, Allies, or Monsters?

Business Families Every family business has a business family sitting behind it, BUT: family business makes no sense – because what makes for a great business generally conflicts with what makes families happy. This fundamental dichotomy can produce all-conquering family teams, conflict-infused relationships, and everything in-between. Business Family relationship dynamics can get very muddy, because […]

My Family Business: Is Dad a Monster?

Every family business has a business family sitting behind it, BUT: family business makes no sense – because what makes for a great business generally conflicts with what makes families happy. This fundamental dichotomy can produce an all-conquering family team, conflict-infused relationships, or something in-between. Families get very confused – families are supposed to be […]

My Family Business: is Mum a Mum, Matriarch, or Monster?

Every family business has a business family sitting behind it, and because family business makes no sense each and every one of them is a vibrant and complicated mix of colliding commercial, financial, relational, and emotional systems. Sometimes this results in an all-conquering family team, sometimes in a conflict-infused misery and, at all times: an […]

Life Lessons #7: Improvisation vs Models in Professional Advisory Work

Trick question! Both approaches have their place and their legitimate uses. Combining them can deliver superior results for clients and advisers alike. It all comes down to CONTEXT. Considerations: Flexibility and Adaptability. Improvisation gives advisers “permission” to adapt quickly to unique and unpredictable circumstances – enabling them to think on their feet, solve problems creatively, […]

Life Lesson #6: Be Comfortable in your own Skin

Observations To be comfortable in your own skin is to make peace with who and what you are, be it: successful or struggling, rich or poor, bright or not-so-much, beautiful or plain, weak or strong, short, bald, fat, or old. Basically, you feel OK about yourself and aren’t ashamed, nor feel any need to apologise […]

Governance for Small and Medium Businesses

(Talk given to CEO Institute Syndicate #1 on 18th July 2023) Good governance improves the likelihood of enjoying long-term success and sustainability in any business. Small and Medium Business – we’re talking to businesses with revenues between $10M and $250M and/or a permanent or casual workforce between 10 and 200 people. They’re privately owned, led, […]

Life Lesson #5: Unlearning to Learn

Most professional advisors develop certain habits and ways of working, over time, that become inviolate components of professional practice as automatic processes in their service delivery. Standardised services become commoditised services. Commoditised services are easily duplicated, rapidly devalued, readily purloined, and ultimately replaced by clients always looking for quicker, cheaper, more accessible solutions. The practices […]

Life Lesson #4: Hope is not a Strategy… but every Strategy needs Hope

Observations I often observe people seriously over-using the words: “hope” and “hopefully” when outlining their expectations and intentions. This immediately activates my BS radar and every additional utterance of either word make me feel increasingly uncomfortable. Why? Consequences If the individual is in a position of power and/or responsibility, expect trouble. They’re either: (a) creating […]