Jeff Faulkner, Author at Rawls Succession Planners

All Articles

5 Steps to Streamlining Your Business

Another initiative that, in my educated opinion, has the ability to set your company apart from the competition is streamlining your processes. Nobody, but nobody, likes to be told how to do their job. This is why this issue sets organizations that excel at it apart. Standard operating processes lay the foundation upon which an organization that desires long-term sustainability can build. These processes are not intended to be constraining. They are intended to provide the parameters of operation, like the banks of a river. When the water remains inside the banks, it’s powerful and productive. When it overflows those [...]

But That’s Not Fair: How To Overcome the “Fairness” Monster in the Family Business

The issue of fairness is at the heart of problems we encounter daily working with business owners and their families on their estate and succession planning. “That’s not fair! My brother expects me to do all the work while he gets equal pay”; “My parents expect me to run the business for the sake of the whole family – this is a father-son business, but my siblings think it is a family business”; “My father won’t retire – I’m 52 – when do I get my chance?”; “My children want to push me out – I built the business, not them”; “Why won’t [...]

Sibling Rivalry to Sibling Synergy

Siblings in business who are experiencing rivalry issues have simply not recognized that they are now adults. They have carried the petty issues of their childhood with them into the business. When you become an adult you have to put away childish things. Sibling rivalries in family business are often rooted in a competition to win dad’s approval. It’s time to recognize that you are in business together fighting for the survival and success of the business. You must spend more time winning each other’s approval than dad’s. No doubt, sibling conflict in the family business can be destructive, and [...]

Business Structuring and Family Harmony

Business Structuring is a critical component of succession planning that can have a huge impact on family harmony. Throughout the course of this article, I’m going to describe three different family business situations that I’m currently involved with where Business Structuring is causing havoc. Situation 1: Active and Inactive Shareholders The first story is a highly complex 3rd Generation Family-Owned business which consists of a real estate and a separate investment business with 4 family shareholders. Two shareholders, father and son, are active in the operating businesses and two shareholders, sister and a sister-in-law, are not active but are [...]

As Seen in Multi-Unit Franchisee Report – Emotional Rescue: Understanding Relationship Dynamics in the Family Business

Recently one of my partners and I were facilitating a meeting between a father and his daughter to work through some mismatched expectations between them in the family business. We had already had several prep meetings laying the groundwork for aligning their expectations, which were all positive and headed in the right direction. They were both excited that we were going to be able to help them get some things out on the table, as they typically would avoid one another and leave issues unresolved. Read the complete article on the Franchise Media Update - Multi-Unit Franchisee website Sign up [...]