Getting started with your family meeting

by Mary Beth Matteo, Founding Director of the S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Family meetings are a great way to begin to chart a family’s future.

John Ward, founder of the Family Business Consulting Group, has some of the best “sample questions” we’ve seen. Here are just a few to get you started:

Succession
• How do we assure our parents’ lifelong financial security?

• How will we pick the next president?

Participation
• How do we decide which family members can join the business?

• How do we determine titles, preparation and authority?

Compensation and Ownership
• How do we evaluate and pay family members?

• Who can own stock in the business?

Harmony
• How will we deal with conflict (generational, between siblings, with in-laws)?

• Who will lead the family activities and traditions into the next generation?

Responsibility
• How do we help family members in financial and/or career need?

• How do we cope with publicity?

• What’s our responsibility to the community?

Sum and Substance: every family has a different character and set of priorities. No matter what they are, it’s worth the effort to begin talking about them. Nothing like a written agenda, and working through each issue, one by one!