The Additional Challenge for Family Businesses

 

When a Family Business is facing any one of the four transition challenges, the "deep structure" has the additional layer of the family dynamics. We have significant experience in working with family businesses and the additional considerations that must be made to ensure that the welfare of the family and the business are attuned.

 

The family business conundrum can be summed up in this statement "is the purpose of the business to support the family or is the purpose of the family to support the business?"

 

To ensure the ultimate goals of the family and business are met, having a solid, cohesive understanding of the answer to this question is frequently the first step in approaching a transition challenge. To that end we have expertise in these and other processes that may be needed to create the foundation for moving forward:

 

• Creating Family Creeds

- Family Philosophy on the Future and Purpose of the Business

- Clarifying roles and responsibilities family members working in and not working in the business

- Structure of the business governance and other family entities (trusts)

- Guidelines for passing of stock to next generation

- Guidelines for the next generation entry into the business

- Guidelines for family communications about the business

- History and connections between the generations

• Facilitating family meetings

• Providing objective assessments and recommendations about the roles that individual family members can, should or should not play in the business.