What Hollywood Can Teach Us About a Family Owned Business
Tommy Boy. I really enjoyed this movie and was saddened to learn of Chris Farley's death in December of 1997. The movie is fictional and darn funny. But what's that expression? "There's truth in fiction?" There certainly is and for those professionals who spend time working with family-owned companies they (quickly) see parallels in the real world that aren't quite so humorous and many of those situations don't - or will not - have the same feel-good ending.
The old man wants his son to run the company. Of course. That goes for the majority of family owned businesses in the US. The son, daughter, niece, nephew...that makes the family proud and maintains control. Why shouldn't the company be passed to the next generation? If the kid hit the gene pool, great. But when the founder is ready to retire, slow down or God forbid die...is this family member instantly anointed leader? Ownership and operation are two extremely different skill sets and each should be handled with care and careful planning.
If these "genetic entrepreneurs" are not properly prepared it could present a host of problems for a lot of people, including the employees. What if the business owner's retirement is dependent in some fashion on the continued (successful) operation of the enterprise. Now there's a complicated story line.
OK, so the dad (or mom) wants his son/daughter to run the place but he knows in his heart they are not yet qualified to take over. Does he say that? When? Where? How? I guess that means he doesn't really love them. Maybe he doesn't even like them. At least that's how it appears at home.
How does an advisor help these people calmly untangle the family dynamic from their "day jobs"? Dealing with a single successor would be hard enough. What if there are multiple siblings? Many advisors don't have the training - or mettle - to volunteer for duty in this emotional war; and fewer parents know what to do, so the conversation probably never happens. Until it has to...
We've all heard the statistic. With an estimated eight million baby boomers exiting their companies over the next 10 years, we're looking at an enormous problem for these families. But problems = opportunities.
I would wager the majority of owners are desperately looking for help even if they haven't said a word. Somebody has to step up and start these big boy conversations. It will help them save the company and more important the family, before something annoying gets in the way - like a funeral.
Michael J. Mainardi, Co-Founder - Selling Technologies