OWNERSHIP GROUPS

Working well together benefits the family and the business.

It’s not difficult to come up with common goals for the business when there is just one owner, such as the founder. But as the business passes from one generation to the next, the number of owners is likely to increase, and increase rapidly. That’s when things get interesting!

With more owners come more opinions. And even the most well-intentioned family member can have an honest disagreement with their fellow owner about some aspect of the business. In fact, effective ownership groups encourage the expression of different points of view.

The key is how well the ownership group manages different viewpoints and agrees on the goals needed to guide the business. Those goals may be financial, such as profit growth and dividend levels, or non-financial, such as family employment guidelines and corporate citizenship.

John Brooks can help your family be more effective as an ownership group. He will educate family members on their roles and responsibilities, then facilitate the creation of policies and procedures that will guide their work as owners. As part of this work, John will typically recommend creating a “family council” that will be responsible for organizing the work of the family, including holding meetings periodically to foster dialogue and decision making on issues important to the ownership of the business.

A business that endures from generation to generation can mean ownership issues get more complicated. But with John’s guidance, your family can manage those challenges and your business can continue to thrive.