Family Business Succession: How Family Businesses Successfully Complete Intergenerational Succession

Author: Evan Landrige
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: My personal experience in the power transition process of a family business can prove that this book is the perfect first-hand material on the succession process. The guidance Landrige provides for the successful intergenerational transfer of family businesses is truly invaluable. — CEO of Sims Limited, Marc Sims
Landrige’s insightful perspectives bring entirely new ideas to the field. Anyone who believes that family businesses are still stuck in the era of small grocery stores should read this book, and the sooner the better. — Louis B. Barnes, Honorary Professor, Harvard Business School
This book is a milestone in the field of family businesses. No other book cites as many references and incorporates as much practical experience. It is the best book I know for managing the intergenerational transfer of family businesses. — John Ward, Founder and Chairman of Family Business Consulting Group
Unlike the “authorities” who try to convince us that our only dream should be to pursue shareholder value unconditionally, Landrige brings us a refreshing breeze. His profound insights into successfully passing on family dreams, family values, and family businesses help us realize that all family businesses are so humanistic. — Ludovico Van der Heyden, Professor, INSEAD
Finding the right successor for a beloved founder or CEO is often the most challenging task a company faces; for family businesses, completing this task presents even greater challenges. Surprisingly, few family businesses succeed in passing to the next generation, and even fewer manage to smoothly transfer the business to the third generation. The author, Evan Landrige, is an organizational psychologist who grew up in a business family. In this book, he reveals the reasons for this high failure rate and proposes the conditions under which family businesses can successfully achieve intergenerational transfer. Landrige believes that family businesses are highly private and that many detailed succession plans are doomed to fail due to the neglect of deep psychological factors. He emphasizes that the family must have a “common dream,” a concept somewhat similar to a unique mission. Because Landrige offers suggestions on how to control the succession process, how to establish systematic selection procedures, and how to make the most effective use of the board of directors during the process, we gain a comprehensive understanding of the succession process. He is also someone who analyzes the various choices in the inheritance process. The choices discussed here range from the simplest transfer from one parent to a designated heir to more complex transfers from a sibling cooperation team to a family cooperation team. Based on numerous cases from family businesses in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, this book provides a comprehensive and profound insight into the complex succession process of family businesses.
Succession planning is a perpetual mission for family businesses. This book is a book that provides in-depth and detailed solutions to the problems family businesses encounter at every different stage of development.