Succession PlanningSuccession Planning

David Thane Leibell

Leo Tolstoy begins Anna Karenina with the line: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Much the same can be said for successful multi-generational family businesses as well as family businesses that are unsuccessful in succession planning. Successful multi-generational family businesses are all alike; they follow certain tried and true succession planning best practices, with a particular focus on family dynamics, to ensure that the business passes successfully to the next generation. Family businesses that fail to plan for proper ownership or management succession typically are unsuccessful in succession planning because they allow unique family dysfunctional behavior to replac...