Parkinson’s Law in Family Business: Turning Busy Days into Real Progress
- Future Accounting
- Nov 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 5
Written by: Chris Mulcahy
What Parkinson’s Law in family business teaches about time and focus
Have you ever heard of Parkinson’s Law? It’s not a medical condition! It’s a business principle that says “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
In other words, if you allow a week to finish a job, it will take a week. If you only give it a day, somehow it gets done in a day. Using Parkinson’s Law in family business helps identify where time and energy are being stretched and how better structure and focus can make a real difference.
In family businesses and farming families where the work never really ends and nobody exactly “clocks off” this principle is especially relevant.
What is Parkinson’s Law?
Parkinson’s Law highlights how work naturally expands to fill the time (and resources) available. When applied to family business management, it reveals where projects, meetings, and even decision-making can drag on longer than necessary often because there’s no firm deadline or accountability.
Understanding Parkinson’s Law in family business helps owners recognise when activity replaces progress and how structure can bring discipline back into the day-to-day.
The work that never ends
In farming and family businesses, there’s rarely a clean end to the day:
The cows still need milking.
The paperwork doesn’t go away.
The to-do list just rolls into tomorrow.
Without boundaries or structure, jobs and decisions can easily expand far beyond what’s necessary. Using Parkinson’s Law in family business reminds us that time must be managed intentionally, not reactively. Setting limits ensures energy goes to what truly matters.
How Parkinson’s Law shows up in family businesses
Slow decisions – Important choices about investments, restructuring, or succession drag out because there’s “always time later.”
Meetings that drift – Family meetings stretch on without a clear cut-off, turning into long discussions that resolve little.
Succession delays – Without firm timelines, leadership handovers are often postponed season after season.
How it shows up in Family Business
Projects that drag on – Building improvements or infrastructure upgrades expand into months if no finish date is set.
Paperwork at the last minute – Record-keeping and tax planning often get left until the deadline looms.
Generational handover – With “just one more harvest” always around the corner, transition discussions are delayed again and again.
Understanding Parkinson’s Law in family business and farming helps identify these habits and replace them with structure and clear goals.
Communication, feedback and expectations for employees
Parkinson’s Law also plays out in the workplace. Without clarity, employees naturally let tasks expand. Strong leadership and management are essential to keep everyone focused:
Clear communication – so staff know what matters most and when it needs to be done.
Regular feedback – to stop people re-doing or second-guessing their work.
Defined expectations – so everyone knows what “finished” looks like, and by when.
Good communication and feedback loops shorten timelines, improve performance, and build a sense of ownership across the whole team.
Leadership, management and meeting rhythms
Family businesses thrive when leadership and management provide structure.
Leaders set direction — clarifying what matters most right now.
Managers create discipline — setting timelines, roles, and accountability.
Families provide continuity — but they need boundaries so decisions don’t sprawl for years.
Strong leadership and consistent management are essential when using Parkinson’s Law in family business planning.
A proven way to build this structure is through regular meeting rhythms:
Short daily huddles to keep teams aligned.
Weekly check-ins to create accountability.
Quarterly meetings for big-picture strategy and family discussions.
This rhythm ensures that issues are addressed promptly and that work doesn’t endlessly expand.
The Rockefeller connection
These ideas aren’t new. John D. Rockefeller, one of the most successful business leaders of the late 1800s, built Standard Oil into a global powerhouse by applying clear priorities, visible data, and disciplined routines.
His methods inspired the Rockefeller Habits, later popularised by Verne Harnish in Scaling Up. They remain highly relevant today especially for family enterprises and farms.
The most effective habits include:
Clear priorities – focus on the top three to five things that matter most.
Visible data – keep facts on the table so decisions don’t drag out.
Consistent rhythms – deal with issues quickly instead of letting them pile up.
When these habits are combined with strong leadership and communication, Parkinson’s Law loses its grip and productivity, focus, and teamwork thrive.
Final thoughts: from busy to better
For most family businesses and farms, the work will never truly be finished and that’s okay. The challenge is ensuring that being busy doesn’t replace being effective.
Using Parkinson’s Law in family business helps you identify where time is being lost and how better structure, leadership, and habits can free you up to focus on what really drives success.
At Future Accounting Group, we help clients do exactly that through our Future Prosperity Process - a practical, structured approach that brings focus, accountability, and clarity to your business and family goals.
If you’re ready to move from busy to better, book a meeting with our team today. Let’s put Parkinson’s Law to work for you and build a stronger, more sustainable future for your family business.
Disclaimer
This article does not constitute financial advice and is for general information only. It does not take into account any individual’s personal objectives, situation or needs, and is not intended as professional advice. Any similarity to an individual’s personal circumstances and the examples provided in this article is purely coincidental. Any person acting upon such information without receiving specific advice, does so entirely at their own risk.
Authorisation under an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is not required in the provision of this article and the author plus Future Accounting Group Pty Ltd is not acting in its capacity as an Australian Financial Services Licence holder
Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.
