Assumption is not consent – it will bring your family enterprise unstuck, I’ve seen it time and again, and after a lifetime in family business myself it was good to make it official!
I got to learn in person from one of the world’s best in Dennis Jaffe, with great support from Chris Graves of the Family Enterprise Group at Adelaide University, and have now joined the Family Business Association (AU)’s accredited advisor team spread around Australia.
As the current or emerging leader of a family enterprise, consider;
– Before asking ‘who should take over?’ the better question may be ‘what do we want this business to be for?’ – underneath that sits what’s it all actually for? What do satisfaction, impact, legacy and a life well lived mean to you, and does the business serve that, or is it the thing you serve?
– The structures set up years ago for good tax reasons are making decisions in the background; who gets paid and who doesn’t, who’s effectively in or out – are your family living with unintentional guardrails that could do with a review?
– If you’re genuinely successful and wealthy enough for the previous two questions to have a material impact on your circumstances, then what change will you make in the world beyond the family?
The pillars of a good family enterprise include strategy, people, legacy, and access to the capital to make it happen – I wish you the very best with yours.
