A visionary is one who launches a business. They have a million ideas swimming in their head and are willing to risk an extraordinary amount in order to see their ideas happen. Their passion and belief is contagious, making it easy to get customers and employees on board. Unfortunately, it often falls apart in the day-to-day operations. A visionary often can’t be tied down to the policies, procedures and decisions that keep a company in business. However, they have such a personal tie to the work that they have a hard time letting go of the logistics. They need integrators.
Jon Fair is the integrator to his father Steve’s vision. Steve founded Fair Salvage Co. in 1986, and has expanded his business into five locations. While listening to Traction, a book on getting your start-up off the ground, Steve realized the distinction between his and Jon’s strengths.
“He’s a lot more ‘jump and I’ll figure it out,’” Jon said about his father. “I’m more ‘let’s get a few particulars figured out and then we’ll jump.’ Distinguishing between these roles would take a lot of pressure off Steve as he’s tried to do it all. He finally figured it out – ‘I can do this, but do I want to do it every day?’ The integrator wants to do it.”
The Fair men realized they needed help in order to work together effectively. They needed someone to help them flesh out their roles and responsibilities and learn to trust each other. While Steve comes up with the ideas and enforces the company culture, Jon runs the leadership team and keeps people accountable for day-to-day responsibilities. They’ve learned to utilize each other’s strengths and work together well.
“We are similar enough that we understand each other, and different enough that we tick each other off,” added Jon.
ReGENERATION Partners is familiar with the visionary-integrator relationship. Our team has long and successful experience in daily operations, specifically for family enterprises. We understand that effective day-to-day management is an essential element for sustainability. We want to ensure a bright future for our clients. If your business is dealing with the struggle of passion versus logistics, let our team get you on the right track. Call us at (214) 559-3999 or send us an email.
Source: Crain’s Detroit Business
