Good Afternoon
Last week, our team member posted on social media that he was really missing his elder brother
Well, he actually had none 🙂
But it was a reaction to billionaire elder brother – Mukesh Ambani coming to the rescue of Anil, on the verge of being sent to jail for non-payment of Rs 458.7 crore to Swedish giant Ericsson
And yesterday, Mr L N Mittal paid Rs 1,600 crore to younger brother- Pramod Kumar Mittal – to settle the Rs 2210 crores due to State Trading Corporation of India
In both the cases, the brothers had in the past split business and ventured out independently.
Why is it that the elder one in both cases went on to become ultra rich and the younger one was on the brink of bankruptcy
Tensions over public recognition, paternal favor, management roles, and simple greed have crippled or destroyed many second-generation family businesses. Globally there are multiple precedents -Dassler (Adidas and Puma), Koch (Koch Industries), and Gucci,
However, negative outcomes are not universal. There are the likes of Warner, Brooks, Lehman, and Wright that testify to the potential of brothers working well together.
If there is brother-partners in the business, feelings and history go far deeper and mean much more than normal partners. While in some cases, they bring exceptional trust, loyalty, and compatibility – in some they bring sharp envy, grudges, and misunderstanding.
Could there be structural frameworks that could be put in place to manage sibling relationships in a family business.
I found this HBR article titled to be quite instructive in this regard https://hbr.org/1971/
Please do read the segment on ‘ Brother-Brother Rivalry’ and share your views
But, either way, brotherhood can’t be ignored. Blood is thicker than water
What are your views