Family Businesses Aren’t Dysfunctional. They’re Disastrous

This week, in episode 204, Jay Goltz and special guest Cathy Caroll talk about family businesses, with Jay asserting that they are even more combustible than most people realize and with Cathy offering some smart coping strategies. We start with Cathy explaining how her own experiences in a family business propelled her to write a book, Hug of War, and to become a family business coach. Why are family businesses so difficult? Well, says Cathy, it’s because you’re trying to combine a family mindset with a business mindset, which she says, is a little like “living in socialism and capitalism simultaneously.” Of course, she says, it also has to do with mixing love and money—“You’re just gonna get sparks”—and with the brutal challenge of transitioning from one generation to the next, when every decision can feel like a repudiation or rejection. Still, it was that stew of anxiety, resentment, and trauma that helped Cathy find her calling, which is to help others do in their family businesses what she could not in hers.