Illustration: Cathy Wilcox.
I SAT next to a wonderful woman on the plane the other day. She was one of 11 children from a humble but happy family. She had good parents and good support throughout her life. Our chat made me start to think about families and the values that guide good business.
What is it about families that make them such powerful units?
Well, they stick together as a group - not a bad idea for businesses if they want to get rid of the office politics. They tell each other the truth, sometimes at the top of their voice, but at least it's loud and clear. They defend themselves against all the other families but they will also lend a cup of sugar to the neighbours next door. And they usually do their best to share everything that they can. Pretty good rules for business.
And big families have often created big business, although we don't see so much of that any more. It was all so different a generation or two ago when the emergence of department stores changed the marketing of products for the family. Simcha Baevski (Sidney) Myer came from a large family with 11 children and the founder of the oldest department store in the world still operating under its original name, David Jones (1793-1873), boosted the colonial population with eight children in equal quantities of girls and boys.
''A thoughtful effort for the young country,'' says Charlie.
Louise agrees. ''A natural leader in non-discrimination - I'm impressed.'' For many years our royal families led the way in clan procreation. Queen Victoria, apart from running England for a record reign, had nine children and 42 grandchildren, more than half of whom married into other royal families. As a result she was known as the ''Grandmother of Europe''.
But the growing global antipodean influence that I often talk about in this column is further evident these days in Denmark with a royal couple producing children two at a time. Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, now has four children from three ''confinements''.
But little seems to confine some of our biggest stars. In the world of showbiz, Mel Gibson has set the mark. He is number six of 11 children and in an effort to catch up with his mother and father, he has had six sons and two daughters. And then there's the Jacksons. Joseph Jackson and his wife, Katherine, nee Kattie Scruse, had 10 children, one of whom died at birth, and so was formed the Jackson 5, but that's only half the story.
And for the marketing people out there, George Foreman sure knows how to keep boxing on, seemingly for generations to come. He has 10 biological kids. Each of his five sons is called George and two of his daughters are Freeda George and Georgetta. After a health scare or two, George decided he wanted to promote healthy eating and so, with Russell Hobbs, he invented the George Foreman Grill. More than 100 million units have been sold and his personal cut is more than $200 million - a big family with a big business that will be around for more than a few lifetimes.
Another legend is Frank Bunker Gilbreth, the father of time and motion study as well as 12 children. When asked why so many he would always reply ''they're cheaper by the dozen''. I reckon it's ''better by the dozen''.
Harold Mitchell is the executive chairman of Mitchell Communication Group.
