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Over the years, I’ve worked with families who own businesses — represented, consulted, held nervous hands, kept family members from diving across the table at each other.
In the process, I’ve come to know just how difficult running a family-owned business can be.
Often, conflict arises when a son or daughter graduates from college with a business degree, their head filled with ideas from classes taught by professors who have never actually been in business. The kids want to go in directions the founders (Mom and Dad) see as financially dubious.
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Managing these types of conflicts can yield results that are equivalent to a shot of vitamin B-12 if — and it is a big if — the parent/founder can bring to the table wisdom and respect of and by family, friends and customers.
That one person can unite family and employees, leading to a level of business success and accomplishment that can positively impact an entire community. I’ve seen it happen, including with the topic of today’s column.
Honored for decades of service
One of the most inspiring people I know reflects those qualities in his life and the family business he founded.
I was present in May 2025 when 69-year-old Morgan Clayton was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters by the president of California State University, Bakersfield, because of his decades of service to his community. (Editor’s note: Mr. Beaver was also awarded an honorary doctorate, but he’s too humble to mention that here.)
As chairman of the board of Tel-Tec Security Systems, which he founded in 1982 and which serves more than 20,000 customers in California’s Central Valley, Clayton is proof that thinking of others, including helping youths in need of direction, is of enormous value to a community — and reflects positively on a business.
I sat down with his three children — daughter Tasha and sons Kevin and Tyson, whom their father described as “being essential to our growth, who we are today” — and asked them to describe what their father does that has made this family-run enterprise so successful and respected.
“Morgan’s very DNA is rooted in finding positive solutions, sending a message that he cares,” Tasha said. (As a sign of respect in the workplace, the siblings refer to their dad by his first name.)
As I talked with these three siblings, it soon became obvious that their father’s attitude and life philosophy would benefit family-run businesses everywhere.
The words and philosophy Morgan Clayton lives by
With an endearing smile, Tyson added, “Everyone is his friend, and one of his famous quotes is, ‘People do business with people they know, like and trust.’ He lives by that — making decisions with this philosophy and referring to it all the time.”
Kevin noted, “He doesn’t accept ‘no’ as an answer and will do what others overlook or don’t want to do. He has always been a role model for our family and employees, with qualities that open the door to success, beginning with generosity, thinking of the less fortunate in our community and asking, ‘How can we address this situation? What can we do, as a company and in our individual capacities, to help?”
‘There are no obstacles — only opportunities’
I asked Tasha, “How does Morgan’s philosophy apply to finding solutions to obstacles or challenges that come up in your business?”
“I have often heard him say there is no such thing as ‘an obstacle,'” she said. “It is called ‘an opportunity.'”
Tyson observed that Morgan “doesn’t hear negativity; he doesn’t like it. He can’t stand it. Everyone knows — family, board members and every employee — that if you have a problem that needs his help in finding a resolution and you want to discuss it with him, you’ve got to be open-minded and look at the issue as an opportunity.
“If you can’t navigate in that direction, then do not waste his time. Morgan is always seeking a win-win solution and does what it takes to achieve that in an honest and ethical way.”
Curiosity plays a huge role: They track every customer they lose
Curiosity, I learned, runs deep among Tel-Tec’s management. They want to know how they are doing, especially when faced with a customer who leaves the company.
When informed that a customer is at risk of departing or has actually left Tel-Tec, the company begins a process to discover if it was due to an error on its part. Employees ask, “Can we make it right?”
The customer’s decision is respected, of course, but employees get together as a team to ask, “What did we learn from this so it will not happen again?”
“Everyone’s voice is important,” Tasha points out, adding, “We do not disregard. Rather, we bring issues to the table, and it is so comforting to know that our brand is affected by the vision people have of us.
“The best referrals come from our customers and from all of us understanding that our culture includes providing superior security services and giving back to the community.”
As I learned from his children, Morgan Clayton didn’t just file corporate papers and open the doors of a security company. “He created a vehicle that provides needed security services and benefits to our community that cannot be measured in dollars alone,” Kevin said.
As one Tel-Tec worker told me, “We know how blessed we are to be part of all this.”
Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@gmail.com. And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com.
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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.