Leading a business under almost any circumstances is challenging. And as you likely know, leading a family business brings with it specific collateral responsibilities that can add to the complexity, stress and difficulty of that job. What we are hearing from junior generation family employees is: If the business is not professionally run (as if it were a public company) that in today’s competitive environment, extinction of the business is a real threat. That data has some interesting implications. It’s comforting in that professional management will help ensure the best person is in the top seat (be they family or non-family leaders). It’s also daunting to many potential family successors who worry that they might not bring everything that the job requires.
The skills required to run a company continue to increase…
