'Hurrah for spectrum of leadership transition issues addressed!'

Phil Clemens, Tony Martin, Matt Diller, and Dana Chryst

Our Leadership Transition panel shared a range of experiences and perspectives during our breakfast seminar on January 20.   "Hurrah for spectrum of issue provided," said one evaluator. "This provided a variety of 'real thoughts' to identify with and test," another said.

During the course of the two-and-a-half hour presentation, many stories and anecdotes were shared--and as another commenter said, no two stories were the same. Here are just four observances of our panelists:



Tony Martin
Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc.

 "[When you work in family business], there will always by those who feel that family members got the job because they have the right last name. I feel I must work harder and better because of my last name."

--Tony Martin

Dana Chryst
The Jay Group

"Relative to family members working in the business, the key is treating everyone consistently. If a family member has a performance issue, they should be treated the same as anyone else."

--Dana Chryst

Matt Diller
Pre-cast Concrete Systems

"How do you get young people to want to be in the business and be empowered? My parents never told me to come back. I knew they wanted me to, but they allowed me freedom to go away. Don't force your children into the family business."

--Matt Diller

Phil Clemens
Hatfield Quality Meats

"What do you want your legacy to be? If you don't let the next generation take over and make this a legacy business, it dies with you."



--Phil Clemens

The complete presentation will be available on The Network of Family Business website soon. 



Thoughts for a New Year in Family Business

If your family business is heading into 2011 without a succession strategy, there's simply no way your family business will be able to compete in the long run. Succession planning is a strategic issue.

Give your family business what it deserves in 2011. Resolve to address succession issues this year. If you're ready to work on succession planning, the S. Dale High Center offers personalized consulting services to family firms throughout North American and Latin America.  Email the Center for more information.

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!

Tom Wolf Presents to CFB Membership in September

Tom Wolf, former PA Secretary of Revenue, spoke to members and guests on September 17, 2009, the first in the CFB's 2009-10 series of Educational and Benchmarking Seminars.

Wolf is chairman and CEO of The Wolf Organization, a family owned building materials business based in York, Pennsylvania, founded in 1843, with distribution through 30 branches along the Eastern Seaboard.

Wolf doesn't believe family businesses should make it easy for the next generation to assume ownership of the family business. And he should know...he bought his family firm twice, once before he served as the State Secretary of Revenue and then again in 2009! He also talked about the value of listening, really listening to employees, explaining how he empowered employees and improved morale toward better performance and decreased turnover at Wolf. He also spoke to the marked efficiencies and improved ROI the Wolf Organization achieved through an investment in SAP.

For selected slides from Tom Wolf's presentation, click here.