“We’re a family” is one of the great lies of modern business.

The minute a company says “we’re a family,” someone is usually about to get screwed.

Because an actual family and a business are not remotely the same thing.

Families do not fire Dad and call it a leadership transition.
Families do not wipe out Uncle Brian on the cap table after telling him he was critical to the journey.
Families do not bring in McKinsey to restructure Christmas dinner at Grandma’s house.
Families do not hire a search firm to find a more scalable mother.

A real family is messy, emotional, irrational, and loyal well past the point of reason.
A business is conditional.
Hit the number, stay.
Miss the number, go.

That is not a criticism of business. It is just reality.

And “family” gets used because it is useful.
It is corporate chloroform.
It makes people accept things they would call out immediately.
Work later.
Take less.
Stay loyal.
Keep quiet.
Trust the process.
Translation: absorb the pain while someone else protects the economics.

If this were actual family life, it would sound absurd.

“After a strategic review, Uncle Mark is no longer the right fit for Sunday lunch.”
“Grandma will remain involved in an advisory capacity.”
“Due to market conditions, the children will not be receiving bonuses this year.”

Call it a company.
Call it a team.
Call it a business.

Just stop calling it a family when one bad quarter turns Thanksgiving into a severance discussion.