Who is this guide for?

This guide was written for you, the next generation of business leaders, to help prepare you to lead your family firm. It’s for those transitioning into a leadership role, those actively preparing and the business families that realize strategic planning is necessary for business success.

What will you get out of this?

The purpose of this guide to create a shared vision of:

• What it takes to ensure family ownership is a competitive advantage.
• Where your firm can add value to increase profitability.
• How your firm can innovate as part of the digital economy.

Our hope is that you’re able to address key issues proactively; before a more reactive response to external forces is required.

How should this guide be used?

Use this guide to create an open discussion amongst your business family. Get it on the schedule, come prepared and focus on the long-term health of the business. Keep in mind that you’ll all be in the room for one reason: to enable your family business to thrive. Encourage those involved to speak freely and without fear of repercussion.

Overview

The questions are broken up into three main sections and we recommend moving through them in order.

Section #1 — History/Roots

• Values/Heritage – The driving force behind your family business’ strategy, identity and brand.
• Founding Story – Inspire your team with the founder’s value-creating mindset and work to build on that legacy.
• Lessons Learned – Navigate your current business environment better by building on what got you here.

Section #2 — Current State

• Business Operations – Challenge the status-quo to improve on key functions.
• Customer Experience – Understand the experiences your customers truly value and improve on or create those that will deliver the most profitable return.
• Positioning – Establish your authority and become the “go-to” in your niche.

Section #3 — Future State

• Disruption – Investigate long-shot opportunities before testing and investing in those that show promise.
• Digitization – Look to digital first for solutions to business problems.
• Innovation – Ask more probing questions, look at problems differently and think beyond best practices and generate new ideas.

Discovery

What are you doing to prepare your family business for the future?

Discovery is our structured, diagnostic framework designed to help you transform your business.

This introductory engagement allows us to apply our expertise to your specific situation over a fixed, short-term timeframe.

Family businesses that complete our Discovery have three distinct advantages:

1. They find ways to innovate without losing touch with their values.
2. They challenge the status quo and pursue opportunities that provide tangible business benefits.
3. They have an actionable digital roadmap that generates long-term value.

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