In our experience, the successful family businesses are those who have managed the art of a core group of skills. These include the establishment of:
- A decent management team with the leverage to make decisions at critical junctures.
- Policies that foster good relations
- Clarity on roles and responsibilities
- Good Strategic Planning
- Good Communication lines among those that have a vested interest
As long as the above skills are honed, families tend to experience better family relations and stronger business performance. These skills also provide a solid framework for measuring performance and allow the leaders of the family enterprise to focus on growth and achieving strategic goals.
Aligning the family on a shared vision ensures that the family and the team members are on the same page strategically and can be significantly assisted through establishment of family councils and family constitutions.
The alignment process should take account of:
- Family history
- Culture
- Intergenerational matters
- Governance
- Ownership structure of the family
Once the above have been considered, we can then strategize on the opportunities which present themselves as the largest areas for growth, and in turn prescribe the areas of education and training that should be targeted to ensure family members have the correct skill set to properly administer the family’s legacy.