Aguascalientes, Ags., May 28, 2024.— As an institution committed to strengthening families and in observance of International Day of Families, celebrated on May 15, Santiago Reinoso Velasteguí, director of the Personal and Family Counseling Office project at our Panamericana Aguascalientes campus , shares with us the article “Family and Business: Toward Fruitful Harmony.”
Family and business, towards a fruitful harmonization
1. A thought-provoking and challenging title: that’s the first thing that caught my attention. One might ask, why seek harmony? What is harmony? According to the Royal Spanish Academy, to harmonize means to ensure that two or more parts of a whole do not conflict or reject one another, or that two or more things work together toward a common goal… Harmonizing family and business, then, is in itself a major challenge. Let’s say these are the natural spheres where we spend most of our lives; hence the urgent need to ensure they do not clash or conflict.
"Fecundo," from the Latin "fecundare," means, from an anthropological perspective, to give rise to something new. In the family, this translates to children and the gift of marriage; in business, it means the professional development of those involved, and thus the creation of wealth and sustainability.
We might ask ourselves: Why discuss this topic right now? Why approach these issues from a transcendent perspective? The answer is as simple as it is complex: because the individual is at the center of it all; because without the individual, there is neither family nor business.
2. A common factor: by nature, people “work” both in the workplace and within the family, although they do so for different reasons in each setting. I would like to recall the teachings of a great professor from our campus, Dr. Eduardo Sánchez de Alba, who made me understand—by compelling me to think—that work, to be called such, must fulfill a threefold dimension: the perfection of the world (that is, the rendering of a service to civilization), human betterment, and the supernatural betterment of the person who performs it.
Only human beings are capable of working, although because of our original condition, work tires us out and wears us down…
The work we must undertake, because it is oriented toward the good of humanity and the individual, could be divided into five closely interrelated areas, hence the need for a fruitful harmony capable of bringing out the best in each person:
- Building oneself, finding oneself, shaping one's own future—where do I want to go?
- Sharing my life, getting to know the other person, committing to building a “us,” accepting the other person unconditionally, and giving ourselves to the other person because they will take care of us—of course, I’m referring to the marital commitment.
- Building a family: creating a shared space that children and grandchildren will want to return to in many ways (for advice, celebrations, guidance, etc.)—making the home a place to which they return.
- Building a career, starting a business, developing people, contributing talent, time, and resources to building a better world by shaping better people, and generating wealth (as opposed to simply getting rich).
- Making friends: Friendship is an unmistakable symbol of our relational nature; it allows us to rejoice in a friend’s success and grieve over their hardships.
3. A bridge: if work is what family and business have in common—albeit on different levels—could we say that it is the bridge that connects these two natural realities? Two spheres that demand the best from a person, two realities that speak to one another in many different ways—some obvious, others silent and hidden—but which are no less significant for that.
Let me venture to suggest that everything I do—or fail to do—everything I say—or fail to say—and everything I think—or fail to think—about my work life or my family has a profound impact on my very essence, on the bond I’ve built with my wife, on the place my children and grandchildren want to return to, on the workplace itself where I operate, and on the friendships I’ve forged.
If we are to balance family and work, we must understand the similarities and differences between these two institutions; a means (the business) is not the same as an end (the family); a lifelong commitment (marriage, family) is not the same as a circumstantial commitment (the business); the pursuit of results and the generation of wealth (the business) is not the same as the importance of the journey (the family).
4. A story: The more or less everyday routine of someone who navigates both worlds consists of leaving home early, with the rest and strength needed to face a demanding, exacting, and sometimes hostile world; spending the day tackling challenges, resolving issues, and caring for others; and then returning home: that magical place where I know I can let my guard down, where I don’t have to defend myself, because I know I’m in good hands, because my wife is an expert in my happiness… it is the hand of God—close, gentle, caring, nurturing… Something that neither my boss, nor my colleagues, nor my secretary, are.
5. One final point: I propose that, in order to achieve a fruitful harmonization of these two great institutions, we must commit to the idea that the creation of wealth—which our beloved Mexico so desperately needs—must occur on several fronts: the struggle to create sustainable ecosystems and the “humanization of business”—redefining business efforts and objectives not only or exclusively as the pursuit of what is useful or pleasurable, but also as the pursuit of what is honest: the person.
Many of us may wonder what our greatest contribution to civilization could be. I have good news for you: it’s much closer than we think. The greatest good I can do for humanity is, first and foremost, to love my spouse! And then: my family, my friends, my colleagues, my clients, and my coworkers; to try to see them as God sees them.
This article is based on a presentation given by the author at the Family-Business Conference organized by the Carlos Llano Chair in July 2017.
About the author
Professor Santiago Reinoso Velasteguí holds a master’s degree in Family Counseling and Family Program Management from La Sabana University, a master’s degree in Humanism from the Universidad Panamericana a Master of Science in Planning and Systems from La Salle University. He has completed executive management programs at IPADE and holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the Autonomous Metropolitan University.
He has also completed the "Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership " program at Dartmouth University and the "Values-Driven Leadership " program at Benedictine University.
He has held various leadership positions in the public sector, the private sector, and academia; at our university, he has served as Secretary General and Dean of the School of Economics and Business. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Insignia Educational Group.
He is currently in charge of the Family Project and the Mentoring Program for graduate students at the Universidad Panamericana; a member of the Citizen Advisory Board of the Aguascalientes State Family Secretariat; a member of the Bonaterra Community Council; a USEM instructor; an independent personal and family counselor; a facilitator for family counseling cases; and a speaker on topics related to marriage, family, and business.
