An entrepreneur tells their employees: my family is more important than you

(written by Lawrence Krubner, however indented passages are often quotes)

A good point about the negative effect on morale, when an entrepreneur prioritizes their children above the importance of the company (and thereby the career of one’s employees). Employees who work for your startup are placing a lot of trust in you – trust not to be thrown away lightly.

How might ambitious employees react when an entrepreneur says “My family is more important than you?”

SM: Your message is that you need to prioritize and that your priorities can change over time. Is that correct?

TT: Yes, but you need to keep your family first.

SM: That is not always possible. If your company is going through a crisis you have to put it first.

TT: For stretches, yes.

SM: Many people don’t buy that argument.

TT: Which relationship are you willing to lose?

SM: If you are the CEO and are willing to lose the company, it sends a very detrimental message to the rest of the people in the company. Your children and your company are both responsibilities.

TT: I disagree. I think it sends the right message. You do everything you humanly can without killing yourself or your message.

SM: If a crisis occurs and you need to spend time in the office, it is what it is.

TT: Short stretches of time is fine. If it is long-term, then you had better figure out how to balance everything.

SM: My point is that it is not always predictable.

TT: It is never predictable. One thing about being an entrepreneur is that you must be 100% comfortable with continuous change.

SM: What I am deriving from your story is that you made a smart decision while working for SunGard. It is hard to be an entrepreneur while having small children.

TT: I could not have done it. They have very different types of needs. I completely agree with you. You cannot devote yourself to the level you need to. Somebody may know how to do it, but it would be incredibly difficult.