by John L. Ward  A Financial Times article[*] about the sustainability of China’s leadership offers some ideas for family business successors.  The article outlines several forms of legitimacy that are more or less sustainable.  First is procedural legitimacy.  The people … Continue reading →

The process of business succession proceeds smoothly only when the relevant concerns are identified in detail and less relevant issues are disregarded. Once these concerns, or core objectives, are determined, it is easier to apply a solution.

Typically, when decision makers consider only one or two obvious constraints in defining an objective, they miss the underlying issues. In order for the process to succeed, the business owner must understand the details that drives the decisions.

Business succession can be broken down into three spheres: Family, Ownership Succession and Management Succession. Sometimes when each category is examined independently, core objectives become apparent.