Firing Family: When Businesses Becomes Personal

March 30, 2001— -- Dad, you're fired.

Working under the thumb of family members can be daunting. The singer Beyonce recently announced she was terminating her father after years under his management control. Like Michael Jackson before her, Beyonce is taking control from her father, known for his bullish pursuit of business opportunities, in what appears to be an amicable split.

"I am grateful for everything he has taught me. I grew up watching both he and my mother manage and own their own businesses. They were hardworking entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps. He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly," Beyonce said in a statement.

Her father of 29 years and manager for the last 15 years, Matthew Knowles, shared this: "business is business and family is family. I love my daughter and am very proud of who she is and all that she has achieved."

"In business, if what comes through is a caring about the relationship more than your own agenda, even if you lose a couple along the way, I believe that bond creates a potential for more victories long term," says Tom Stern, creator of CEO Dad. "I can only assume that might be part of what has gone on with Beyonce. To make such a painful change, I imagine there must be some real conflict."

Make no mistake: the conflict surrounding the firing of family members isn't often well-hidden from employees or the public.

Five years ago, pop star Usher Raymond parted ways with his mother amid swirling rumors that Jonetta Patton did not agree with his love interest. The R&B crooner tried to put a positive spin to the firing by calling it forced retirement.

"I love my mother — she's the only one I have. I decided to not fire, not get rid of, but to give [my mother] the ultimate compliment — to retire her to be a full-time grandmother," Usher told MTV. "My mother and I decided to change her situation, together. There was a conversation. I didn't write her a letter or pink-slip her."

A year later the Grammy winner decided the role of manager was best filled by his mom and he rehired her as his manager.

When Sumner Redstone fired his son Brent, the younger Redstone filed a lawsuit accusing his father of governance abuse, according to media reports.

Late last year "Hell's Kitchen" chef Gordon Ramsay fired his father in-law in a sensational letter from his attorneys. The move caused a rift in the family with Chris Hutcheson, his father-in-law, calling the decision a "public hanging" and pleading for a relationship with his daughter.

"Gordon hasn't made it clear why he has done this. What happened, happened because of the mind of an egotist," Hutcheson told The Daily Mail. "There will be no rehabilitation of the business for me. I had great fun when we started, we were conquering the world the two of us, but all that changed. Now I just want my daughter back."

In the interview, Hutcheson also called Ramsay a "Svengali-like figure" who poisoned his daughter against him and compared him with Pinocchio. "I feel like I have been vaporised by Gordon and the only question I have is why? Why have you done this to me? We could have sat down and had an amicable divorce and worked things out if we were to part company. But he didn't do that," said a hurt Hutcheson.

Both Ramsay and Hutcheson worked together for years, and the decision to fire his father-in-law imploded the family and has caused a very public rift that has been made worse by dueling egos.

Ramsay hasn't commented on the feud, but he did release a letter to London newspapers, calling the decision to remove his father-in-law from the business "the hardest and most important decision in my entire life" and accused him of being manipulating and controlling.

Ramsay knows a fair amount about family businesses. In his Fox show "Kitchen Nightmares," he tries to turn around restaurants, many of them family-run, and most of those with family members at each others' throats as business spirals downwards.

Still, people like Mitchell Kaneff, who fired his father around seven years ago from the family business Arkay Packaging, say they found that the working together can also bring a family closer together.

"My father today and always has been my greatest mentor," says Kaneff, author of "Taking Over: Insider Tips from a Third-Generation CEO."He taught me the art of discipline and has always been my hero. The elder Kaneff taught his son the ropes placing him in menial positions so that his son would learn every aspect of the company.

When Kaneff asked his father to step down at the age of 74 years old, it was one of the hardest things he had to do. But, his father accepted his request and stating, "I'm very proud of you and I will step down."

"The world respects power. He appreciated my strength," says Kaneff.

It is strength that Robert, a lawyer, had to find for his face-to face meeting with his older brother to tell him that he would be leaving the family business after getting his start at the firm nearly a decade ago.

"As a boss my brother is generally easy going and friendly," Robert said. "There are times, however, when he can be a micro-manager."

"It is always hard working for family because I think it is always natural to let your family get away with a little bit more than an outsider and I have let that occur in this relationship," Robert said.

During college, Robert started at the family law firm as a law clerk before graduating from law school and becoming an attorney. A little more than a year ago, Robert began searching for a new a job, secretly, to keep the work environment "pleasant."

"I've been in this situation before, where if your employer knows you're looking elsewhere, then suddenly the work load starts to increase," says Robert. "[Plus I wanted to] "avoid general unpleasantness with my brother if the job search proved unfruitful."

This Tuesday he announced his new job to his brother who wished him well and good luck.

Working at outside companies before starting a family business in an asset, according to some.

"The most successful family business owners tell their kids you can't work here until you worked for other companies for 10 years," says George Hedley, founder of Hard Hat Presentations. The children are forced to learn how the real world lives and that can add value to the business.

"If you come straight to a family business you don't know how other companies operate," says Hedley.

To avoid regrets and retribution ask for fair pay. Sometimes, Hedley says, children toil away at low-paying jobs with the promise that someday they'll be an owner, and finally when the child is 65 years old, the dad dies and they learn there's nothing left for them and the business is out of money. He calls this "adult child abuse."

"If the kid is coming up and actually running the company they should get paid like a president of a company and they should participate in the stock profit dividends of the company," Hedley says.

The common problems that crop up when family members share a work relationship is the lack of communication. Family members may feel taken advantage of fight over leadership.

"You can't have two quarterbacks on the field calling a play at the same time," says Kaneff.