Business and Family Forums

In his recent article published with Acropolis Investments, Dan Bean, CMA Partner, provides five key steps to successful preparation for the transfer of leadership in family businesses. In this blog entry, we will discuss Step 2: Business and Family Forums:

The family needs to have formal family meetings to provide a venue for sharing info, making plans, and resolving issues.  This is critical for one of the oft-overlooked aspects of generational transition: unifying the next generation. These matters should not be addressed inside the business. Within the business, a Board of Directors with outside directors is a great resource to support the transition process. The Board helps the outgoing and incoming CEO, and provides assurance to family members about accountability for the new CEO.

Dan places a strong emphasis on the importance of separating family matters and business matters.