William Lauder, executive chairman of the Estee Lauder Companies, has been a source of learning for many aspiring businessmen and career-minded people. Although he got familiar with office environment when he was just 13, his actual professional career kick started with a non-family company where he worked as a field sales manager. Later, he joined his family Company on a low profile, but with his talent and wisdom he reached higher levels. Hence, from his experiences, he can point out well what it takes to be a part of an established family-owned business.
William Lauder has a love child outside of his marriage, which had once grabbed headlines floating stories around William Lauder love child.
Advantages and disadvantages of joining family-run business
William Lauder says there are two types of a family – one where people are connected through blood relationship and one where everyone belongs to the Company regardless of blood but are considered to be a part of the family.
According to William Lauder, every family-run business faces the same kind of challenges, no matter which sector they belong to. Sometimes family members may be led by their emotions, which can or cannot be legitimate or rational. Certain ideas may have worked in the past, but they may not be relevant in today’s scenario. The older family members may often say what they had done when they were in that age as the one, who is currently looking after the Company. Being in that position, it may not be easy to communicate that you are not sure if your idea would work.
These are some of the downside of joining a family run business. But, William Lauder feels the advantages outnumber all the disadvantages that you may face. While talking about this, he mentioned about his ancestral company where there are professional managers who fit within it from both personality and psychological point of views and hence, they are able to attain success. There are some who may not be a fit in this sense, but since they are comfortable working in a family style setup, they continue to be a part of it. And, this is true for every type of organization, irrespective of the kind of ownership structure it carries.
From this, you can clearly understand the culture Estee Lauder organization has; it respects and promotes talented professionals, whether they come from the Lauder lineage or not. William Lauder and Fabrizio Freda (who Mr. Lauder had brought from outside) are an example of this.
You might have heard about William Lauder love child case, but if you want to collect gems of knowledge, read about his professional journey.
