Succession plans, although vital, are not enough to keep families intact as they navigate a business succession process. The award-winning TV series “Succession” depicts this best.  A patriarch wields power and control from the top of an international media conglomerate.  As he contemplates his succession plan, he suffers a heart attack.  His three children see an opportunity to seize power and run the company on their terms.  This example demonstrates that even when expert succession plans are in place, they are insufficient to protect a family from imploding. The data backs this up.  Only 30 percent of family businesses successfully transition.  This means that 70 percent of family businesses lose control of the assets, and family relationships potentially destroyed.

 

At The Williams Group, we empower families and their enterprises to beat the odds and come out on the winning side of a business succession plan. We help clients develop a shared purpose, clarify roles, build high-trust teams, and implement effective decision-making. 

 

We start with a diagnosis of the “fault lines” in the family enterprise and associated relationships that focus on trust-building, aligning a shared purpose, balancing control vs care, and assessing the preparation of heirs.

 

Family enterprises that will benefit the most from working with TWG are those who:

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• Seek a smooth transition and successful implementation of a business succession plan

• Desire more clarity in the roles, standards of performance and qualifications within a business

• Observe that performance issues are causing a decrease in company profitability

• See that generational differences is stifling  innovation and impeding effective  decision-making

 

Our approach focuses on first conducting a comprehensive diagnosis of the family business context, challenges, and stakeholder network.  We assess levels of trust within the family, the effectiveness of decision making, the ability to function as a high performing team, alignment of purpose, and heir preparedness. We then co-design an action plan that integrates new trust and communication tools, optimizes the strategy moving forward, aligns systems and structures, and provides executive coaching to achieve the client’s desired outcomes .