In my previous two posts, “How to Find Balance Between Family and Business” and “How to Achieve Balance Between the Family and the Business,” I discussed two of the three steps great and enduring families engage in:
They establish balance between family and business priorities.
They work hard to convey this balance to and through the next generation.
They pursue Succession Success.
In this post, I will address the third step, Pursue Succession Success. A great and enduring family business understands the need to achieve greatness, not only in business performance and operations, but also greatness as a family who happens to be in business together. Succession Success is a phrase coined by Loyd Rawls in his book Seeking Succession: How to Continue the Family Business Legacy. Rawls says,
“Succession Success is a very specific term describing the nature and degree of success required to support the transition of business ownership and management.”
The challenge of achieving Succession Success is that:
“it is supported by a broad base of success factors that provide the stability and resilience of profitability needed to withstand predictable profit erosion during ownership and control transition.”
In other words, it’s quite simply the ongoing continuity of success. A great family business sees and understands that the stability and resilience of the family has a direct correlation to the stability and resilience of profitability. It recognizes the difference between family and business and prioritizes both environments in an effort to achieve greatness in both. As a family business prepares for succession, it is imperative that they realize how important the family system and family dynamics are to the equation, just as they clearly recognize the need for profitability and accountability to sound business principles in the business.
Achieving a balance between family and business priorities is an extraordinary endeavor that requires an extraordinary effort. You and your family members will need to determine how willing and how committed you are to engaging in this extraordinary endeavor. If you do, you too will be on the road to achieving Succession Success.
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