Flying home from a funeral a few years ago, I started pulling together a business continuity plan for a family member’s business.
The father had died and even though he had been preparing their daughter to take over the business, she wasn’t ready yet. It threw the entire business into disarray. And it made me stop and think because he had done everything ‘right’. He had identified a successor and ensured that she was being prepared but what he hadn’t planned for was his own mortality.
It highlighted for me the vulnerability of family businesses, not only for the owner and their family but the ripple effect it has. In this case, they lost quite a lot of business.
One of the areas where family businesses are most vulnerable is in the succession process. There is a lot of confusion and interruption – not from the actual ‘handing over of the keys’ but from poor communication. It comes down to conversations that can be difficult because a critical relationship could be at stake. Many family members don’t want to rock the boat by bringing up sensitive topics that may cause disruption.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of The CEO Magazine Asia.
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This story is from the January 2020 edition of The CEO Magazine Asia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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