Family businesses blend tradition with ambition and emotion to create complex tapestries. Our family's experience within the ceramic tile industry at Icon World of Tile demonstrates this intricate situation. Despite our ambition to become a global leader and maintain our founder’s legacy we are stuck in the succession paradox where succession planning receives universal agreement but no one takes action to implement it.
The succession paradox resembles standing at a crossroads while holding a map but lacking anyone who makes the first move. The senior generation who developed Icon from one factory into multiple business units feels proud of their accomplishments while wanting their legacy to endure. Gen3's leadership preparation occurs through informal mentoring and gut feeling instead of formalized planning. Younger family members experience uncertainty about their roles as they eagerly anticipate their future duties.
The Three-Circle Model developed by Davis and Tagiuri in 1982 demonstrates our current situation perfectly.
Family: The presence of over 60 shareholders who span three generations leads to high expectations regarding their involvement and family legacy.
Business: Gen2 family members run each of our six production units yet operational risks emerge from overlapping responsibilities and unclear succession plans amid preparations for an IPO where investor expectations for strong governance remain high.
Ownership: Share control distribution to the next generation still lacks resolution which amplifies future uncertainties.
The metaphor “passing the baton in a relay race” reflects our situation because improper execution without training and rules leads to failures that threaten both the competition and the team's historical achievements.
The study of other Indian family businesses reveals various warning signals alongside effective business practices. Reliance Industries faced difficulties with succession planning which resulted in a public division. The Godrej Group managed seamless leadership exchanges through their proactive governance structure and family constitution.