Succession and Transition Planning
Ownership Transition, Business Leadership Succession
Transitions are not a single event; they unfold over time. Successful transitions require ongoing attention to the evolution of the ownership and management of family assets, as well as to the shifts in roles and responsibilities before, during, and after the transition. To assist families through transitions, we:
Guide the clarification of priorities and potential challenges to envision future needs.
Facilitate alignment among the family and with their business leaders, board members, and/or trustees, in order to define the needed roles and develop a transition plan. Assist with the implementation of the plan.
Consider and define the needs and roles of different generations and different kinds of owners – governor, operator, and investor owners.
Assist the family in finding ways to balance the importance of the legacy of older generations with the need for agency of younger generations.
ARTICLES
A DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
Critical questions emerge as family enterprises anticipate a future generational transition, including what the next generation needs to be prepared for, how big the challenge is, and how it will it be met.
A DEATH IN THE ENTERPRISE FAMILY
Losing a member of the family to death need not spell endless turmoil for a family business; instead it is a way for a family to clarify its raison d'être.
PREPARATION FOR FAMILY BOARD LEADERSHIP
This article explores the importance of FQ, or Family Intelligence Quotient, and the steps one can take to develop their own FQ in service of their family enterprise.
PODCAST: HOW TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE FAMILY ENTERPRISE
How to build a resilient and sustainable family enterprise and the seven elements needed to develop resilience.
PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION FOR OWNERSHIP IN A DYNAMIC WORLD
Developing a systemic approach to prepare the next generation for ownership and to manage the intersection of family relationships and the family economy.
SUSTAINING FAMILY ENTERPRISE AND RESILIENCE
The sustainability of a family enterprise depends on its ability to balance a steady course with the nimbleness to plan for course corrections by attending to the five dimensions of sustainability.
PODCAST: HOW TO PLAN FOR AN UNCERTAIN BUSINESS FUTURE
How to build a resilient family enterprise and the seven elements needed to develop and foster resilience.
The next generation of family owners often unexpectedly and without planning become partners. As “accidental” partners, they have unique risks and challenges to manage.
GOVERNANCE AND THE ENTERPRISING FAMILY
Exploring the role of family governance on sustainability in the family enterprise.
Related Articles
CASE STUDIES
Within a short period of time and through a series of unexpected accidents and a sudden rapidly terminal illness, a successful family owned publications company lost three individuals who had held high-level decision-making positions. When the president called Relative Solutions, he was struggling to maintain standards and productivity for the company, while simultaneously searching for replacements, and assisting employees as well as family members with their grief over the deaths of these company leaders. Since the deceased individuals included his daughter and two nephews, the president himself was also deeply distressed.
After a hurricane hit, a number of businesses and families were left to pick up the pieces. A closely held financial services business, which suffered no loss of life, but next to total devastation of the physical aspects of the business including their headquarters, physical assets like computers, and personal belongings of one kind or another.