Martin Guitars: Simply the Best
C.F. Martin IV, Executive Chairman of the internationally known guitar manufacturer whose name he shares, is the sixth generation of the Martin family to run the business. He is excited about the possibility of his daughter joining the business, noting that she would be “the first female C.F. Martin.”
Yet for all the pride he takes in his family’s longevity at the helm of the company, it will be her decision whether or not to join the business, as it was for him. “I actually think it was beneficial to not have felt…’you are CF Martin…you are destined to join the family business,’” he recalls. “I made a choice and I'm glad I did.”
That is not to say he felt no connection to the business growing up. “My grandfather, Mr. Martin, took an interest in me as the next C.F., and I would come and visit and…hang around the shop,” he says. “It's only been recently that I've come to the realization that I am that ‘Mr. Martin’ that my grandfather and father always were.”
“Mr. Martin” takes an expanded of family and how it contributes to success. “Our family tree is three-dimensional here,” he says of his co-workers, referring not just to blood relations. “You look at a Martin Guitar, it says ‘CF Martin and Company.’ From that first thing you see, my family's acknowledging this is a team effort. My colleagues are the best at whatever job they are doing…of any guitar builder on earth.”
One of the particular strengths of a family business is that it can attract and retain talent better than non-family businesses, notes Lily Cochrane, formerly the head of the Wake Forest Center for Private Business. “They recognize first and foremost people are incredibly important to the success of their company. And as a family business, you can make strategic decisions to invest more heavily in some areas rather than others.”
Nevertheless, Martin still ascribes part of the success of a family business to a simple formula. “Don't mess with the sauce. Mom or Dad came up with a good idea, carry on,” he says. “And that's what happened here.”
