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Posting by: Geoff Brown
Date: October 28, 2009
At the recent Family Firm Institute (FFI) conference in New York, the first session I attended did not quite live up to the hype in the title, so I decided to change my tactic and instead of attending sessions that sounded like they would be the most interesting, I decided to attend those focusing on being conducted by people with authority and credentials in the field of family business advising.
One of those sessions was conducted by Kelin E. Gersick. Ph.D., an individual with very significant credentials in the family business advising field whose topic was, “King Lear at Twilight: The Late Adult Transition and the Hero’s Farewell.” At first blush, I wasn’t sure just how enlightening it would be, but I put my trust in my new tactic and was rewarded for it. As soon as I walked in the room I realized that I was the only CPA there. And guess what?! It turned out to be a very interesting discussion.
Honoring Thy Pater and Mater
Gersick’s basic premise was that so much effort is put into the process and the end result of, for example, implementing a succession plan or determining what the management structure ought to be with the new generation. In placing the focus here, family business advisors often forget about the needs of the first generation or current leader(s), who started or have been running and leading the business as a patriarch or matriarch for many years.
The patriarch/matriarch in a family business is often someone who has built the business from the ground up, and spent much of their adult life dedicated to the success of the business, often making sacrifices beyond the typical business executive. The sense of ownership is tremendous, carrying responsibility for both the family and the firm, and the workplace is often a more comfortable place to this leader than any other.
Succession Diplomacy: How Not to Ask When the Leader is Leaving
I remember many years ago, long before I ever thought of helping families in business, having a conversation with my father-in-law, the president of a second-generation business. His son was involved and poised to take over the reins of the business, and my father-in-law was approaching his mid-sixties. I commented that in a few years he would probably like to retire and let his son take over. His response? A cold blank stare. That business was his life. Without knowing it at the time, I received my first lesson in family business advising. And if not for a debilitating disease, my father-in-law would still probably be going into the office a couple times a week.
The point is clear: when helping to devise succession plans, or dealing with governance issues going forward or strategizing the management structure, how can be also maintain the respect and dignity of the patriarch/matriarch who came before and sacrificed so much to build the business? How do we find a way for these honored leaders to move on so that their special needs are met? Of course, the answer isn’t ever easy, as each case and each leader is very different.
Have you experienced a dignified succession in a family business that helped the departing leader fill the void?
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