One of Australia’s best ever motor racing drivers, Canadian born Allan Moffat, once coined the term “Never let ambition outweigh ability”. A four time Australian Touring Car Champion and four times winner of the epic Bathurst 1000 kilometre endurance race, he certainly exhibited both in spades over a glorious 25 year career.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly you get a feel for a business when you first walk in the door? First impressions truly are everything.

In last week’s edition of Growth, I made the bold call that family business owners aren’t that great at articulating business direction to their team. Essentially, it’s what you and I call leadership.

Most family business owners and managers are great at what they do, but sorely lacking in their ability to lead and manage people. I’ll come to why in a moment.

On Monday of this week, our second and youngest son, Fraser, turned 21. Where did those years go? It seems like only yesterday that Trish’s Mum, Peggy, phoned me at work and said that she’d gone into labour. I bolted home from the office and we did the mad dash down Narellan Road and made it to Campbelltown Hospital just in time for festivities to begin!

I caught up with my expert IT consultants on the Central Coast for lunch a few weeks ago. They’re a key part of our business and without their expertise, responsiveness and ability to pull rabbits out of hats, we wouldn’t be able to function as a business.

Last week, the Federal Government engaged in the biggest budget spend in the nation’s history. A massive deficit as a result of personal income tax cuts, business investment stimulus and infrastructure spending are all targetted at firing up an economy that has been impacted by COVID 19.

It’s funny some of the things family business owners put themselves through in their business life. Sometimes daily. Often sporadically. None of it actually that productive or strategic.

My wife recently participated in a fundraiser at her local gym called “Steptember”. The challenge was to raise funds throughout the month of September by her and a team of her friends walking at least 10000 steps per day. When she first told me about it, I didn’t know too much other than it was a fund raiser, but not necessarily who it was for.

It’s early last Friday morning. The ABC radio news is on in the background as I’m getting ready for the day. I’m half listening as I’m thinking through my tasks for the day when the newsreader mentions a “fire in Camden”. My wife, hears the same thing and when the reference is to a building on fire with an upstairs restaurant, we both call out to each other – “Fred’s”.