Like most other family business owners, Steve Grossman, the third-generation CEO of Grossman Marketing Group in Somerville, Mass., and Dale High, the second-generation chairman of the High Companies in Lancaster, Pa., are looking forward to voting in next year’s presidential election. But Grossman, 60, a Democrat, and High, 64, a Republican, take their political activism far beyond the voting booth. Both have devoted countless hours—make that years—to supporting the issues they believe in, working on election campaigns and, in Grossman’s case, running for office himself.
Obviously, Grossman and High are deeply committed to political activism. But at the same time, they both have family companies to run. How do they balance the sometimes-conflicting demands of politics and business?
An ‘almost genetic’ passion
Grossman describes his interest in politics as “almost genetic.” The very first entry in his company’s brochure, next to a photo of the founder, identifies the family’s political allegiances. “In 1910,” the brochure reads, “Maxwell Grossman founded Massachusetts Envelope Company [the original name] and that same year helped re-elect John F. ‘Honey Fitz’ Fitzgerald mayor of Boston—establishing a family commitment to both business and civic engagement.” Maxwell Grossman, Steve’s grandfather, went on to become the vice chairman of the Massachusetts delegation to the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Steve Grossman’s uncle Jerry, who was president of the company for 35 years, was particularly interested in the nuclear arms race and managed campaigns for several candidates.
“I grew up in a family that saw politics and grass-roots organizing as something that enriched a civil society,” Steve Grossman says. “My family also believed one could be active in business and successful at the same time.”
In 1975 Steve bought his uncle’s share of the company and ran the company in partnership with his father, Edgar, who died in 1999. Last year, Steve changed the company name to reflect its expansion beyond printing and storing business envelopes and other products. The company now also provides communications strategies, promotional products, graphic design, signage and inventory management, and other services. Clients include the Boston Cel-tics, the Boston Lyric Opera, Harvard University, L.L. Bean and Staples. Revenue for 2006 was $30 million.
Steve’s mother, Shirley, 85, works part-time in finance; his sister Amy, 51, works part-time in marketing; another sister, Mary Ellen, 58, is the company treasurer; and Mary Ellen’s husband, Barry Lyons, is the director of facilities and human resources. Steve’s sons David, 30, and Ben, 26, are responsible for print communications services and technology, respectively.
Steve Grossman has been active in the Democratic Party for 30 years. In 1987, Michael Dukakis asked him to co-chair his presidential campaign, which involved traveling around the country for 18 months. In the 1990s Grossman served as chairman of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts. Following that, he worked for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel organization in the country, and traveled the U.S. for another four years. In 1997, President Bill Clinton tapped him to chair the Democratic National Committee. He served for two years, resigning when his father became terminally ill. Then, in 2001, Grossman ran for governor of Massachusetts, bowing out when polls showed he probably wouldn’t win the primary.
Grossman says he couldn’t have been as active politically if his father had not been extremely supportive. He concedes, however, that his work for others came at a price. The business “ran by committee” during his absences, but when he returned to work in 2002, the company was losing money for the first time in 30 years, he acknowledges. “While we have a management team in place, many of the innovative, profitable ideas to reinvent the company come from me,” he explains. “When I’m not here, a lot of that energy gets dissipated. People execute the day-to-day tasks, but the strategic, consultative skill set that I bring to the table is not here. I’ve never worked as hard in my life as I have in the last four years to rebuild the company.”
The revenue figures show Grossman has succeeded—35% growth since he’s been back—but he’s had to fight the urge to follow his heart. In 2004, he says, he was preparing to leave for Burlington, Vt., to chair Howard Dean’s presidential campaign when his mother entered his office, closed the door and pulled the plug on his travel plans. He remembers her saying, “The business has grown 800% since you came here in 1969. But when you’re not here, it doesn’t happen.” Although his mother understood his deep commitment to politics, Grossman says, she was concerned that he would be too distracted to give the business the attention the family felt it would need from him for five to ten more years. “I have an obligation to give this business the vitality it needs so my sons have the same opportunity that my father and grandfather gave me,” Grossman says. And I understood that.” He still worked on Dean’s campaign, but he declined the hands-on, day-to-day role he otherwise would have taken. These days Grossman adddresses college students on how to achieve balance among family, career and community.
‘Nobody has any doubt what my agenda is’
While political activism runs in Steve Grossman’s family, Dale High is the first member of his family business to be politically active. The High Companies consist of eight enterprises that fall into two groups: real estate and construction companies, and several manufacturing companies. Revenue for 2006 was between $500 million and $600 million. Dale’s son Steven, 42, is president of High Safety Consulting Services; his son Greg, 34, is vice president of development for High Hotels Ltd. His daughter Suzanne, 36, is on the board of High Hotels. Nephew Richard High, 51, is an estimator and contract manager for High Associates.
Dale High has advocated for his favorite causes both individually and through various organizations. He’s belonged to the state Chamber of Commerce for a decade, has served as its chairman for several years and is still on the executive committee. He’s also a member of the National Federation of Independent Business, and a former member of the Pennsylvania Business Roundtable, an association of the state’s larger businesses. In addition, he’s served on a land use panel under former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (a Republican) and on the medical malpractice task force and Department of Community and Economic Transition Subcommittee under current Gov. Ed Rendell (a Democrat). He’s also been a heavy contributor to his chosen candidates’ campaigns and has hosted a number of receptions and fund-raisers.
“Timing is everything in the political world,” High says, “and you have to know when the time is appropriate to push a particular political agenda. An individual by himself can do very little. It pays to associate with an organization that has an active lobbyist. You have a better chance of being heard, and you get more collective clout to get the legislature to consider an issue.”
As a result of his networking in the organizations to which he belongs, High says, he has been able to call leaders in the Pennsylvania state House and Senate and be put through immediately. Industry issues are often best addressed through a trade association that has lobbying clout, High suggests, like the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), to which his company belongs.
Working through trade associations is one of the major ways in which family businesses accomplish their political objectives, says Ernesto Poza, professor of global family enterprise at Thunderbird, a graduate school of international management in Glendale, Ariz. Family business stakeholders who hesitate to throw their hats into the political ring should consider the ramifications if they do nothing, Poza suggests. “Family businesses that get involved in politics may be taking a chance of alienating some key accounts or the opposing political party,” he says, “but by not getting involved they’re also taking a chance. If they decline to get involved, then they have no influence on tax issues, import-export issues, trade barriers, illegal dumping, outsourcing and other issues.”
And they miss the chance to influence legislative issues, or at least bring attention to family business concerns, if they don’t get involved. Steve Grossman offers a poignant anecdote to demonstrate how he personally added value to a legislative issue. Last year, when the president of the Massachusetts Senate wanted to introduce a Family and Medical Leave Act, he called Grossman for information about the family company’s policy. Grossman Marketing pays 100% of the salary of anyone who needs time off for family emergencies. Grossman testified in front of the legislature and brought along an employee who had an aneurism that required five operations, whose salary he paid the entire time she was out of work—more than six months. “I have access to numerous legislators,” Grossman says, “and I don’t hesitate to talk to people about common-sense principles to make the business environment more productive to small businesses.”
Some family business owners who are asked to participate in political fund-raisers may worry about how such activity might be viewed in the community, Grossman acknowledges. “But it depends on how you approach people,” he says. “Letting your values shine through is the most important thing. People give to people, not causes. If they don’t want to support you, they won’t.” He also suggests that he’s more valuable to the boards he sits on because of his activism. “Those boards are going need political support to obtain funds,” he says, “and I can help.”
Grossman says he can’t remember ever losing a client as a result of his political beliefs. “As long as you handle yourself in a dignified way and don’t allow your political activities to become so personal and harsh that they polarize relationships, I don’t think it matters to people that much,” he says. “They respect you for who you are, even if they don’t agree with you philosophically.” High also says his political activities have never caused a problem. He’s used to the opposite reaction, he says—people have thanked him for his efforts.
High notes that it pays to be adaptable. He doesn’t always necessarily support candidates “on a pure party line,” he says. “Sometimes it makes sense to support the particular interests that are going to give the best results for the business community and your state.”
Like Grossman, High says he stands on his values. “Nobody has any doubt what my agenda is,” High says. “They expect me to take on things like tort reform and business climate issues.”
But, High adds, family business owners may be vulnerable at times, depending on what business they’re in. His highway bridge business is dependent on federal funding, for instance, and his company applies for state grants for economic-development projects. Several employees of the High Companies are involved in the political process. “There are all sorts of levels where people get involved,” High says. “We do a lot of real estate development and construction activities, which involves working with the state.” Working closely serves as a form of insurance, he explains, because state economic development grants and loans are at stake.
High says his company is very involved in tort reform, the state tax system, incentives for business and Pennsylvania’s estate tax, primarily through the Pennsylvania State Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, which he chaired in 2003-04. He says he compares Pennsylvania’s personal and corporate income taxes with other states’ taxes and brings the differences to the attention of state legislators, since tax levels are critical for job creation and economic vitality in the state.
When family business owners take a political position, their concerns are usually limited to their own industry or region, Poza notes. “For instance,” he says, “family businesses that are plastic-injection molders may represent their interests for what’s happening vis à vis competition in their industry, but they don’t represent other types of firms, or family businesses in general.”
Democrat Steve Grossman and Republican Dale High agree on at least one point: Political activism can pay dividends personally as well as for their companies. But is it worth the time commitment? A business owner must evaluate his or her dedication to a cause vs. the value to be gained from it, High advises. “Then there’s a broader interest—helping as a citizen to make the community as good as it can be, much the way you’d be involved in philanthropy,” he adds. “Not because you’re going to get something back from it, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
Patricia Olsen is a New Jersey writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle magazine, Financial Planning, Board Room Reports and other publications.