Family Business: Bump & Beyond

Succession is one of those things everyone in a family business knows is important, but somehow it’s the hardest to talk about. From what I’ve seen, it’s not really about planning timelines or writing formal documents, it’s about emotions, identity, and trust. There’s often a fear of letting go on one side, and fear of stepping on toes on the other. In a situation I’m quite familiar with, succession wasn’t something openly discussed for a long time, even though everyone felt the weight of it. When the time eventually came, it was heavy, not just in terms of responsibility, but emotionally too. Taking over a leadership role in a family business means stepping into someone else’s legacy, while also trying to find your own way. That’s not easy. What I’ve come to realise is that successful succession is more about open communication and mutual respect than it is about perfect timing. It takes patience, clarity, and a lot of emotional maturity, from both sides. If you're interested in reading more about the emotional layers behind succession, this article offers a helpful perspective on the emotional dynamics involved: https://www.ocorian.com/insights-news-press-releases/how-navigate-complex-landscape-emotional-ownership-family-businesses

Ways of Framing Family Businesses: Family businesses can be framed in fundamentally different ways, depending on the lens used — which creates tensions and paradoxes. Two dominant frames often emerge: 1. Business-First Frame 2. Family-First Frame These frames reflect different priorities and values, and navigating between them is a core challenge for family firms. 1. Business-First Frame • Focus: Profitability, growth, market competition, innovation, strategic advantage. • Logic: Rational-economic. Prioritizes efficiency, performance, and professionalization. • Decision-Making: Data-driven, performance-oriented, sometimes with external advisors or professional managers. • Risk Attitude: Willing to take calculated risks for long-term returns. • Implication: May lead to conflicts with family traditions or emotional attachments. 2. Family-First Frame • Focus: Harmony, legacy, tradition, values, emotional ties. • Logic: Socioemotional wealth. Protecting the family’s non-financial interests (e.g., identity, status, influence). • Decision-Making: Relational and value-driven, often informal and consensus-based. • Risk Attitude: Risk-averse to avoid jeopardizing family unity or legacy. • Implication: Can hinder innovation or scaling due to emotional resistance to change.

family business performance is measured mainly through financial indicators like profit, sales growth, or return on investment. While these are important, they don’t always capture what makes family businesses unique. Unlike non-family firms, family businesses often care about more than just money. Non-financial goals such as keeping the business in the family, having a good reputation, building strong relationships, or ensuring a successful succession, are often just as important. That’s why using only financial measures can give an incomplete picture of how well a family business is really doing. It’s important to look at performance in a more balanced way that includes both financial and non-financial goals. Measures like family satisfaction, harmony, long-term vision, and alignment with family values can help provide a fuller understanding of success in a family business. This idea is supported in an article I recently read, which reviews how performance is measured in family business research and highlights some key gaps. The author encourages researchers to use more goal-based and holistic approaches that reflect the true nature of family firms. Reference:Williams, R.I. (2018) ‘Measuring family business performance: research trends and suggestions’, Journal of Family Business Management, 8(2), pp. 146–168.