When the caterpillar asked Alice “Who are you?”, she replied “I hardly know, sir, just at present.” The caterpillar’s simple question is not easy to answer, particularly for many family businesses. Even if the founder has a clear sense of purpose, family businesses grow, the work changes, and the next generations can easily lose sight of the history and even core values of the business. Many family businesses, even highly successful enterprises, do not have a tradition of recording, preserving, or even sharing the family history or the history of the business.
For a family business to succeed over several generations, the founder – and next generation leaders – must be intentional about building trust, knowledge and cultural tradition among the children, grandchildren, and extended family. There is real value to a shared family history.
As counsel to family businesses, Ater Wynne helps our clients understand the importance of tradition and history - good and bad - to the success of the business. We know that "not all the law is in the books." Our job, as professional counselors, is to work with our clients - often multiple generations - so that there is a shared answer to the caterpillar's question and thus a common sense of purpose for the business. This kind of understanding can lead to effective transfers of leadership, sensible liquidity events,and meaningful strategies for those family members who will not continue as active participants in the business.
