Paul Butler: Built to Last

Going the Extra Mile: Built to Last

BY PAUL BUTLER

SCVBJ Contributing Writer

I’ve been quite nostalgic of late. I was clicking through the property details of what was the first, and only home of my paternal grandparents. The house which became their home was built in 1931 and they moved in as a young married couple just before the world went to war for the second time. Their home was sold to another family when my grandmother passed away about 20 years ago. Sadly, my grandfather left this mortal coil a few years earlier.

Even though my grandparents lived in that home for just over sixty years the house has changed hands eleven times since.

This walk-up memory lane to what was their front door led back into a haven of boyhood wonders for me — the large garden my older brother and I could exhaust ourselves within, while the grownups talked about matters we neither understood nor cared about during our age of innocence.

It dawned on me as I closed down the webpage that just as a house changes hands, so does a business. Just as the owners of a home contribute to the rise or fall in the value of a building, so do the owners or managers of a business.

I Googled, “What is the average lifespan of a publicly-traded business?” I was shocked to read that according to McKinsey & Co, the average life span of a business listed on the Standard & Poor (S&P) 500 in 1958 was just 61 years. They further predict that only 25% of the companies listed on today’s exchange will still exist by 2027.

What societal factors have occurred to reduce the average lifespan of a business for McKinsey to predict that 75% of today’s public businesses will soon change hands; go private or simply close down to be no more? Likewise, how can one family make four walls a home for sixty years and yet it’s been bought and sold eleven times since my parents closed that beautiful front door and gave the keys to strangers my grandparents never met?

The average life span of a business listed on the Standard & Poor 500 in 1958 was just 61 years. It is predicted that only 25% of the companies listed on today’s exchange will still exist by 2027.

I’m no philosopher—I’m just a recovering accountant who is a student of organizational development and leadership behavior, but I think it essentially boils down to the increasing restlessness of the human heart.

Just as homes change hands because the grass looks greener somewhere else; businesses change hands. Just as families outgrow homes, businesses have to adapt to the new needs. This sometimes means merging with another business to create a new home for the commerce that now needs to be cooked up in the kitchen.

The home may become too big when the children grow and go and so, it’s best to sell. Likewise, when a business loses the talent, it thought would be the next generation of leaders, it is often sold because the energy is no longer there to keep the forward momentum. Like us, it slows and then gradually stops. The doors are closed as soon as the price is agreed. It all becomes history — simply, memories of yesterday.

According to Castles Unlimited, the median age of a home in the U.S. is 37 years, which means that most properties will need to be repaired at some point. Staying on our parallel path, according to the Small Business Administration, only about half of small businesses launched today will survive at least 5 years, with the average life span being just over 8 years.

Houses that last more than the average 37 years do so because they’re well managed and maintained. Likewise, small businesses that survive more than 8 years are well managed and maintained.

There seems to be an interesting corollary between those who live in one home for many decades and those who work in or run businesses for countless sunrises and sunsets. I think the answer rests within the concepts of contentedness and contribution.

See, just as my grandparents made a home from a house, which continues to increase in value, great owners, leaders and employees create organizations built to last.

Paul Butler is a Santa Clarita resident and a client partner with Newleaf Training and Development of Valencia. For questions or comments, email Butler at paul.butler@newleaftd.com. 

CHARACTERISTICS

Continued from page 11

but the truth is that not all of them will be owners. The owners manage the financial capital. There may or may not be family members in the Company circle.

What is characteristic of family businesses is the integration of these circles, since they often give rise to conflicts. Statistically, family

members will prioritize emo-

tional capital, while company executives will care about social capital — reputation in the market — and owners will have an interest in financial capital.

The Genogram

The Genogram is a table

in which important dates

are recorded as well as relationships between family members, which makes it especially useful for recognizing patterns of behavior and being able to deal with them rationally.

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Parallel Planning Process

This process refers to planning that weighs the require-

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the family. There are five central points where these needs collide and a parallel planning measure must intervene. They are capital, control, occupation -how the person who will perform a certain function is selected, conflict -the one that must be avoided so that it does not become the pattern- and culture -related to the way of transmission of values and the tradition of the company. 

The biggest challenge for family businesses is dealing with their emotional conflicts.

BRENTS

Continued from page 8

And, he added, the example his parents set “constantly reminds me to be a better person and to reach out to other people.”

One might wonder how such customer service is possible when Brent’s is under the umbrella of the Carpet One cooperative, which encompasses more than 2,000 stores.

Being with Carpet One actually makes better service possible, he said. “We can better care for our customers’ floors over their lifetime because of the leverage we have with manufacturers.”

And, of course, being part of such a large organization lowers prices to customers. The buying power of 2,000 stores brings “national volume-based pricing.” Beyond that, Ben said that there is a cost reduction in general — in advertising, transaction fees, “and a bunch of other services, from which we pass savings on to the customers.”

Ben said that he continues his father’s practice of recommending what is best to the customer, not what is most profitable to the business.

“We take care of people. We do the job right, and don’t sell poor quality floors.” A big part of Brent’s customer service also comes from their lifetime labor warranty. “Any flooring store offers a 365-day warranty, but we guarantee the labor for a lifetime,” he said.

As a part of Carpet One, Brent’s is able to offer the Beautiful Guarantee on many of its materials. “If you don’t like the flooring after we install it, we will replace the material for free,” Ben said.

Of course, the types and brands of flooring offered are important as well, and Brent’s has an extensive selection of top brands of carpet, vinyl, hardwood, tile and laminate.

Plus, their vast experience allows them to educate and advise you on selection, and to install with expertise. The intent is to make you a loyal customer, and part of the Brent’s family. “My dad had a philosophy that we care for the customers’ best interests, not ours,” Ben said. “And we continue that. That’s what creates a good name, what we’ve done for 43 years.”

Brent’s Carpet One Floor & Home is located at 24220 Lyons Ave, Newhall 91321. Their phone number is (661) 388-0687 or visit www.brentscarpetonenewhall. com. 

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