Part 2 - Defining our Legacy - Flipbook - Page 16
Leadership transition.
B O O D L E H AT F I E L D -
LESSONS IN LEGACY
Dependent on sector or style of business, it’s likely the commercial operation
itself will need to adapt over the years, and so too will its leadership
structures and governance if it is to remain relevant. The most successful
family businesses are likely to be taking a conscious view on legacy and
how it is defined, as part of conversations about passing on that legacy –
even when they recognise that these discussions can be a challenge.
Founders of family businesses often find it difficult to relinquish control
to their offspring, and finding constructive ways into these conversations
can be a challenge. This may sound like something that should happen
routinely but changing the processes, people and structures that support a
controlling owner to those that support a ‘sibling partnership’, for example,
is so complex that it is the focus of ongoing academic study. Generational
transition is recognised as a critical point in the life of a family business.
As academic, DR JUSTIN CRAIG, Visiting Professor of Family Enterprise at
Kellogg Business School puts it:
“
The reason business owning families are not
good at succession planning is that they do
not do it very often. For public company CEOs
- it’s a swing door - five years in, change
the strategy, get the ‘golden parachute’ and
go. Broadening that conversation about
succession planning has been focus of the
last decade.
