Family Business Issues
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Family businesses have a group of central problems that will continue to play themselves out in the years ahead (Welch, 82):
- Wealth preservation vs. accumulation
- Succession
- Passing control to unqualified progeny.
Protecting wealth is a whole lot different than accumulating wealth. To protect it, reduce risk. To accumulate it, increase risk. Your ability to accept risk - and your management team's - may effect your company for years to come.
Wait too long to hand off your company to your daughter and you may lose her entirely. You're still healthy? Not a good enough reason to hold on too long.
Only one reason might be good enough to hold off on passing on the company: your daughter isn't qualified to run things. Deciding who is qualified is a tricky question. Delay answering it at your peril.
Reference
Welch, Jack and Suzy. Red Flags for the Decade Ahead. On our list: family businesses under stress, dearth of managers, and corruption. BusinessWeek. 19 May 2008. 82. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_20/b4084082575201.htm?chan=search