It's time for the family
but let's extend that time

Let me start off my last column of the year by wishing all our readers and advertisers a Happy Festive Season. It's been a long and rushed year and now it is time for a break. This past year has brought a mix of good and bad things along with it but whatever it had brought, now is the time to put aside all those business issues and give time to family. And it is on this point that I would like to linger.

One of the statements made during the year which had a real impact on me came from Professor Andy Andrews when he said that good businesses are grown on relationships rather than on transactions. Our correspondent Dave Scott put this statement into context in an article where he highlighted cases of where transactions rather than relationships were dominating certain businesses. He put forward the case that there is a danger in the current climate of high growth and pressing production targets of forgetting about the relationships you have built up over the years and concentrating solely on pushing product out - often with quality being sacrificed - to meet the many transactions that are coming your way. I have given this statement a lot of thought and have acted on it where I have seen some of my own actions revolving around transactions where they should be driven by the desire to build up relationships. To demonstrate the difference, let me use a simple example. Most of us have our favourite filling station where we've been going to for years. I know I have. When I pull in, I know the forecourt attendants. I walk into the shop and I know the guys behind the counter. They probably even know the regular Lotto numbers I take every week. They also know that with the extension of the Lotto draw from once to twice a week, I now have my dreams shattered twice rather than once a week. And despite the fact that their Lotto machine is broken - it must be since I have never won anything - I keep going back there in the hope that they will get it fixed. The point is that we have a relationship that has been built up over the years. And it is because of this relationship that I will go out of my way to support that garage. On a long trip, however, my vehicle needs fuel and I will pull in at the garage which is most convenient when I see the fuel gauge heading towards empty. Apart from saying hi to the attendant and having a bit of a chat, I quickly get my business done, pay for the fuel and then move on. I will probably never see that forecourt attendant again. He rendered a service for which I paid and that's it. That is a transaction.

Certainly there are cases - such as the one I have just outlined - where transactions are acceptable. However, one should spend a bit of time analysing which business interactions are those which create long-term sustainable growth and stability against those which are mere one-off short-term profit - or loss - transactions. With this in mind, let me now go back to the family and ask: How do you treat your family? Do you interact with them on the basis of building and maintaining solid, sustainable relationships with each family member or do you interact on a 'transactional' basis. Certainly you will be paying more attention to them over this time of the year when work pressure eases and you have more time to spend with them. However, during the course of the year when business pressure builds, how do you treat them? I know I am guilty. Just the other night, my 16-year-old daughter was telling me a story of a problem she was having with a friend. It was obviously important to her but after a while she stopped and said to me: "Dad, have you heard a word I've said? You're not listening at all are you?" She was right. I had been reading an article in a magazine and kept glancing back at it while she was talking. My mind was miles from where she was. I apologised, put aside the magazine and gave her my full attention - but it was too late. She was really peeved off with me and walked away - more accurately, stormed off - saying something like "it's obvious that your stupid magazine article is more important than what's going on in my life". Ouch! That's not true but at the time, it was. I missed an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with my daughter; to listen to her and perhaps give advice or comment that would endear me to her even further. Instead, I isolated myself in my little cocoon of selfish want and chased her away. I often think that parents are so lucky that our kids are so forgiving. I went after her, apologised and eventually she forgave me and I heard her story. In the grand context of life, her situation wasn't at all big. To her though, it was. 

Think about how much time is spent in businesses finding news ways of satisfying customers. How many company slogans do you come across that say: "We listen to our customers"? Think about how much time, money and effort you put into enhancing and improving customer relationships and then compare that to how much time, money and effort you put in to enhancing and improving your family relationships. Is it enough to concentrate on this area of our lives just once or twice a year when the Festive and Easter seasons come along? No, it is not. There are many critics of the Arrive Alive campaign who state that it merely raises its head in peak traffic periods such as over the Christmas and Easter seasons whereas it should be active throughout the year. Does the same principle not apply to family relationships? I reckon it does so I'm going to end the year by making an early New Year's resolution. In 2006, I am going to put as much effort into enhancing my family relationships as I do into enhancing my business relationships. Yeah, I know that means I'm gonna have to listen to my wife more but what the heck, this time round I'll really listen rather than just pretend to listen. Jokes aside, I have a feeling that the family is going to become more and more important as we face the many challenges coming our way in the years ahead. Let's start now to nurture that part of our lives on a continuous basis rather than just once a year. I somehow feel it will enhance all our lives - as it will theirs - and add value to everything we do outside of the home. May you and your family enjoy a peaceful, safe and blessed festive season. Have a good one and please, please, please DRIVE SAFELY. We want you all back next year. Luvya all.

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor