The Family Business Of Truck Driving

CR England was mentioned In the June edition of Pilot Travel Centers CHALLENGE Magazine. The article ran a great story about family owned and operated truck driving businesses.

CR England was one of the featured companies in the article. The other company featured in the article was John Christner Trucking. The article mainly discussed the issues of Succession, Entitlement, and Expectations.

Another very interesting issue that was covered in the article was focused on this question. "Who really decides who is in charge?" The issue was summed up quite well with a quote from Dean England " In terms of business, we realize not everybody can be the boss and we understand our roles and perform them well."

The Christner family operates similarly with family members complimenting one and other and  sibling rivalry absent from the mix.

The topic of succession was briefly discussed. The article states that 70 percent of family owned businesses do not make it to a second generation of owners. With CR England now operating with 4th generation family members it certaily has over come the statistics.

The sense of entitlement is not taken lightly by Christner trucking or CR England. Both families  believe that there is a need to eliminate the idea that trucking jobs are just waiting for younger generations. At CR England they have decided on a policy where 4th and future generations will need to first work outside the family business for at least two years before they can work for the company.

Both families in the article made comments about the future expectations. The Christner family believes there will be no  expectation of succession. CR England manager Mitch England says He will encourage family to work with the company, but he will not force it.

This was a great featured article written by Jennifer Kirby. A full online version of the article can be found at: http://ptcchallenge.com/2009/06/a-tangible-legacy/