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The Favourite

Written By Al Jones

While doing a little research on the internet the other night, I found myself sidetracked by some YouTube videos of the old ‘Smothers Brothers’ comedy show. For those of you who are too young to remember or even know who they are, they are most famous for a line that Tommy Smothers always said to his brother, Dick: “Mom always did like you best.” Looking back on those videos had me lost in time. As hilarious as they were, that one line stuck with a lot of people from my generation; not just with family, but in schools and workplaces too.  I used to wonder what made one student the obvious teacher’s pet or one employee the one the boss always put in charge. As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I’ve come to understand.

I grew up in an era of family businesses. There weren’t many franchises or big box stores back then. As parents grew older and into retirement, there were choices to be made. One choice was to sell to another, much younger family. The other more common choice was to pass the family business on to their children. It was a guaranteed job for them in a world that had high unemployment rates and it also allowed the parents to still help out on occasion, stay close to their now adult children and grandchildren and still feel active and productive.  This was not a problem if they only had one child that wanted the business. But what if they had to choose between two or more children that wanted it?

I know for a fact that many business owners put off retirement, because they dreaded choosing one child over another. Even if their kids were willing to be partners in the business, there would still have to be a decision made as to who would be the senior partner and ultimately the final word on important decisions. There is always a fear that if something is given to only one child, that the others may experience feelings of envy, disappointment, anger or worse yet, being loved less than the one that was chosen.  I don’t know how most of them made their decisions. But I am aware of one.

Mr. Schmidt and his wife ran a deli.  Although they had some unrelated staff, it was a full family operation, with their five kids involved in every aspect of the business. Their three daughters greeted customers, took orders, made sandwiches, ran the till and helped prepare fresh salads for takeout.  The two boys did everything from making deliveries and picking up supplies to grinding meat for sausage and cleaning pots and pans.  They always seemed happy and they were probably one of the most respected families in the neighbourhood.

When it came time for Mr. Schmidt and his wife to pass the business down, they asked each of their children if there was a desire to take it over. The three girls declined, as they had aspirations of eventually getting married, raising families of their own and perhaps working in their own family businesses with their husbands. The two boys both expressed a desire to take it over. Despite the obvious decision to have the brothers share the company, Mr. Schmidt found it too difficult to choose which of the two would be the senior partner. So he did something I’d never seen before, and have never seen since. He had an election. Letters of explanation were sent out to all of their customers, suppliers and staff along with ballots. He then wrote a dated letter to his sons, put it in a sealed envelope and posted it on his wall by his desk. He called the boys in and told them that each of them would take a turn at running the deli for one month. At the end of the two months, votes would be cast and the winner would be the senior partner.

It was William’s turn first. With him at the helm, it was not uncommon to see a little constructive banter between the family members, but it was always done with humour. His older brother, Benjamin, watched and scoffed. As far as customers and suppliers, William didn’t even attempt to change things for the better. Benjamin could see a waste of time and resources. In his opinion, William spent too much time laughing and joking instead of watching the bottom line.

Next it was Benjamin’s turn. Benjamin worked hard. He increased productivity by enforcing a customer per hour ratio. He reworked deals with suppliers to give the company savings; after all, a dollar saved was a dollar earned.  Deliveries were now timed to increase the productivity of the delivery drivers. By the end of his month at the helm, the deli was not only leaner, but more efficient. Customer service had
never been better. He was confident that he had indeed proven himself the superior businessman.

When the final votes were tallied, everyone was shocked. William had won by a landslide. Most had assumed that Benjamin was the savvier of the two. Many of the ballots came back with little notes such as, “Both are excellent businessmen, but William listens more,” or “William tends to be more thoughtful, where as Benjamin is strictly business.”

Mr. Schmidt asked the boys to join him in his office. Behind closed doors, he congratulated both William and Benjamin on becoming the new owners of the deli. He then reached up and pulled the letter off the wall by his desk and handed it to Benjamin. Benjamin opened it. The letter read: “I’m proud of both of you. You will need to rely on each other in the future if you are to succeed. If I handed this letter to you, it’s because you still need to understand where this family’s success comes from, whereas your brother probably already knows this. A good businessman is not made solely by how he treats those he serves…….  but by those that serve him.

I think too often, we assume favouritism, rather than looking within ourselves. Maybe Mom didn’t love him best. Maybe Mom was just making wise decisions based on our own actions.