Family Business Consulting

"Shirtsleeves to shirtleeves in three generations."
— Unknown
"The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells, and his son begs."
— Scottish Saying
"Wealth never survives three generations." — Chines Proverb

This doesn’t have to be true. There are dozens of family businesses that have survived multiple generations and achieve sales in the $ billions.

I have worked in and consulted to family businesses as well as having an academic viewpoint as the sole lecturer for the Ryerson family business course for several years. I bring a practical viewpoint to the well-established theory about why…

Family Businesses Outperform Non-Family Businesses

  • Family-controlled firms in the S&P 500 achieved 53% greater Economic Value Added
  • Family-controlled firms had a 6.65% greater return on assets
  • DAX Plus Family 30 (30 largest and most liquid German family firms) outperformed the DAZ by 40%
  • Worldwide, family-owned businesses achieve anywhere between 8% and 16% higher annual returns on assets and shareholder equity than other businesses.

Family businesses offer unique challenges to their owners

While they offer clear benefits, family businesses offer unique challenges to their owners, managers, employees, and even family members who aren’t involved in the business. The Systems Theory of family business suggests that to understand, manage and optimize the firm and the family that owns it, that there are seven distinct groups that all must be considered by the family’s and firm’s leaders.

My goal in working with a family business is to maximize the return on each of the firm’s seven constituencies, and show owners, managers and family members best practices for doing so.

Potential areas of engagement

  • Transition or succession planning
  • Governance / Family Charter / Family Council Development
  • Family Meeting Facilitation
  • Conflict Resolution / Mediation
  • Family Member Education
  • Non-family employee issues

Hire Brad for Family Business Consulting

In a family business, the owners, family members, and managers deal with an additonal level of complexity not found in other organizations. There are seven distinct groups to be considered when determining rights, responsibilities, policies, procedures and other plans in the family firm.

Please get in touch with me if you are looking to:

  • Introduce proper governance to remove ambiguity for managers, shareholders and family members
  • Resolve issues between any of the three groups
  • Talk about succession or transition
  • Assess and develop top and/or other level management teams
Contact Brad