- Original Poster
- #1
I would really welcome any advice or comments over the situation I find myself in. Here's the situation
Small company t/o circa £350k.
Decent living from it.
Breaks even or small profit.
No debt or much cash either.
I own about 95% of the company. My fellow Director the rest.
Been going for <15 years.
No Directors agreements in place and lazy on minuted meetings.
My fellow Director and I have worked together for over 20 years.
We get on fine on a personal level.
All in all the company should tick along for the foreseeable future.
So here's the problems.
The company could and should be doing better than ticking along.
I feel my fellow Director holds it back and isn't really Director/Leader material. I have known that for years, but without going into all the details there are financial reasons that have kept us "glued" together e.g bank.
Anyway here's the dilemma. I have never really trusted him so keep an eye on as much as I can. Our company has processes that are fairly watertight so there isn't much scope for grande theft etc..... Certainly not anything serious or it would be picked up.
However, over the years I have picked up several indiscretions that really bug me, such as telling me that he has to go to meetings when I know he is off doing something else e.g. taking time off with pals. He often vanishes without explanation. There lots more. He is very sneeky and secretive in the way he goes about his life. There are many examples of what in isolation could be seen as petty indiscretions, but when they are all put together they say a lot about the person. Unfortunately, he is a very good liar and will deny the undeniable which is bizarre and has to be experienced to be believed. Arguements can easily end up as "yes you did" "no I didn't" which is very strange when it's two middle aged supposed businessmen! It like argueing with 3 year old child! Odd.
I will keep it brief, the paperwork trail proves what he has done. Basically he has purchased a product for himself and passed it off within an sale to a client. In other words the client has order 10 items and he has bought 11, with the 11th going to himself for whatever reason e.g. personal use probably. It's not a fortune in money terms (only £100) but it is so underhand it is just not acceptable to me. Who knows what other things are sneeked through without me knowing. Some things are harder to spot but I would be surprised if they don't go on. It's not nice having a business partner you know can't be fully trusted.
Given that we get on just fine day to day, the easy way out would be to ignore it and carry on normally, so should I take the easy way out and say nothing? Or should I go for it and start the process of seeking his departure, which in itself is a bit of legal/employnment nightmare? FWIW his departure would not have a negetive effect on the day to day running or profitabilty of the company. In fact it would be good for the company.
So, what would you do if you were in my position?
Thanks everyone that takes the time to put in your twopence worth.
Small company t/o circa £350k.
Decent living from it.
Breaks even or small profit.
No debt or much cash either.
I own about 95% of the company. My fellow Director the rest.
Been going for <15 years.
No Directors agreements in place and lazy on minuted meetings.
My fellow Director and I have worked together for over 20 years.
We get on fine on a personal level.
All in all the company should tick along for the foreseeable future.
So here's the problems.
The company could and should be doing better than ticking along.
I feel my fellow Director holds it back and isn't really Director/Leader material. I have known that for years, but without going into all the details there are financial reasons that have kept us "glued" together e.g bank.
Anyway here's the dilemma. I have never really trusted him so keep an eye on as much as I can. Our company has processes that are fairly watertight so there isn't much scope for grande theft etc..... Certainly not anything serious or it would be picked up.
However, over the years I have picked up several indiscretions that really bug me, such as telling me that he has to go to meetings when I know he is off doing something else e.g. taking time off with pals. He often vanishes without explanation. There lots more. He is very sneeky and secretive in the way he goes about his life. There are many examples of what in isolation could be seen as petty indiscretions, but when they are all put together they say a lot about the person. Unfortunately, he is a very good liar and will deny the undeniable which is bizarre and has to be experienced to be believed. Arguements can easily end up as "yes you did" "no I didn't" which is very strange when it's two middle aged supposed businessmen! It like argueing with 3 year old child! Odd.
I will keep it brief, the paperwork trail proves what he has done. Basically he has purchased a product for himself and passed it off within an sale to a client. In other words the client has order 10 items and he has bought 11, with the 11th going to himself for whatever reason e.g. personal use probably. It's not a fortune in money terms (only £100) but it is so underhand it is just not acceptable to me. Who knows what other things are sneeked through without me knowing. Some things are harder to spot but I would be surprised if they don't go on. It's not nice having a business partner you know can't be fully trusted.
Given that we get on just fine day to day, the easy way out would be to ignore it and carry on normally, so should I take the easy way out and say nothing? Or should I go for it and start the process of seeking his departure, which in itself is a bit of legal/employnment nightmare? FWIW his departure would not have a negetive effect on the day to day running or profitabilty of the company. In fact it would be good for the company.
So, what would you do if you were in my position?
Thanks everyone that takes the time to put in your twopence worth.
