If you take a shortcut when analysing business, you will never suceed

By Nicklas Jungander, Partner
Region: International

Sector focus: Industrial

WORKING WITH FAMILY-OWNED COMPANIES CHALLENGES YOU AS AN CONSULTANT AS YOU HAVE TO MANAGE A GREAT HISTORY, AND OWNERS THAT CAN HAVE DIFFERENT INTERESTS AND VIEWS OF THE FUTURE. BUT YOU ALWAYS GET A HIGH LEVEL OF COMMITMENT. EVEN IF IT’S A LARGE FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY, THE “FAMILY” IS ALWAYS THERE AT THE END OF THE DAY. IT CAN BE GRATIFYING BUT ALSO VERY CHALLENGING. IT’S A FINE LINE TO WALK AND YOU MUST BOTH BE HUMBLE TO THE NARRATIVE, AND AT THE SAME TIME BE CLEAR WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAD AN ASSIGNMENT SEVERAL YEARS AGO TO RECRUIT AN EXTERNAL CEO FOR A FAMILY-OWNED COMPANY. THIS WAS THE FIRST EXTERNAL CEO AFTER YEARS OF FAMILY-LED MANAGEMENT. SO, IT WAS A HUGE CHANGE.
IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BALANCE BETWEEN THE BUSINESS LOGIC AND THE EMOTIONAL CHANGE FOR THE OWNERS. ON THE ONE HAND, THE BUSINESS LOGIC LED TO A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE MARKET, THE STRATEGY, AND THE BUSINESS GOALS. THAT’S ALWAYS THE BASE. IN THIS CASE, HOWEVER, THERE WAS ALSO THE ASPECT OF THE SUCCESSION PLAN, AND WHAT WAS IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD FOR THE COMPANY IN RELATION TO CULTURE AND VALUES.
WITH THAT IN MIND, WE DID A STRUCTURED ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY’S DESIRED MARKET AND BUSINESS CONTEXT, ALONG WITH THE FUTURE AMBITIONS. WE DID A DEEP-DIVE STUDY OF THE COMPANY WITH THE OWNER’S OBJECTIVES AND BROKE IT DOWN ON THE BOARD LEVEL. IT WAS A HELPFUL WAY TO GET TO KNOW THE COMPANY’S FUTURE DIRECTION AND A STRUCTURED WAY OF GETTING DATA FROM A SCIENTIFIC BASE OF EASONING
WE DID A LOT OF FOLLOW-UPS, WHICH PROVED TO BE VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE FAMILY-DRIVEN NATURE OF THE BUSINESS.
IT WAS ALSO TOUGH FOR THE NEW CEO. BEING THE FIRST EXTERNAL CEO WAS A CHALLENGE, DUE TO THE SITUATION THAT THIS WAS NEW FOR BOTH THE OWNERS, THE BOARD, AND THE ORGANISATION.