Blog

It was Father’s Day in the UK yesterday, a celebration shared in over 50 other countries across the world. I took the opportunity to catch some calm quiet time, to reflect upon my father and my grandfathers, all of whom have had an influence on who I am today.

Leonard (left) and Daan (right) Stolk of TwinSpark Racing present our Porsche RSR brake package. Good friend Bob Aines in the background.

The nature of raising kids to be mindful of the fickle nature of the world, means most dads are outwardly cynical about a day concocted by card sellers and cuff link manufacturers. But Father’s Day is an important point in the year: when we can appreciate our progress as fathers and therefore leaders over the last 12 months, to take stock of our current situation and to consider how we might tweak our processes for the coming year, to obtain a better outcome.

I apologise if this approach all sounds a bit too businesslike, but running a family is very much like running a business. There are customers and suppliers, there are costs and there are profits. And of course there is the customer service team, headed by the breadwinners. For some families, the line is further blurred by the running of a family business. So it was with my dad, so it was with Porsche, and so it is with Leonard and Daan Stolk of TwinSpark Racing.

Who knows when the first father decided that he would start a business and employ his kids? The first example I can think of is biblical: Abraham and Isaac, who worked together until the partnership was almost dissolved by a divine request that the son be sacrificed! A last minute reprieve kept the family business intact. The point is, since the earliest times, fathers have used work as a way to both teach and engage with their kids. When things are working properly, it makes perfect sense. This is one reason I recently went self-employed as a journalist and freelance web content creative: to perhaps one day employ my kids and help them settle into the world beyond education.

When it comes to doing business, who would you rather deal with? The seller who keeps his business to himself, or the man who thinks so highly of his output that he brings his family on board, to ensure his customers receive absolute commitment from those with the most invested in success? Dealing almost entirely with family owned and run businesses, my choice is clear.

If you’re the head of a family business who did nothing on your special day, do something right this minute: grab a cup of coffee and think about how lucky you are to work with family now, or to have done so at some stage in your life. If you’re a dad who has never and will never experience that, you have my sympathies.