GEOFFREY Gaberino, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist, once remarked, “The real contest is always between what you’ve done and what you’re capable of doing. You measure yourself against yourself and nobody else.”
If family businesses around the world strive for future prosperity and family survival in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, how did the next generation business leaders of dominant conglomerates like the 184-year-old Ayala and 130-year-old LKK managed to keep pace with an ever-changing VUCA world?
Even with a great idea, leadership and many hours of hard work, one rule still applies: Nothing is certain in life and in business. No one can unfailingly know if an enterprise will fail or reach a century or whether a startup will survive past the one-year mark. So, how can one increase the odds?
To dream and aspire in becoming a 100-year-old enterprise, the business must be relentless in staying relevant. But how?
Firstly, the business leader must create a clear vision of where he or she wants to take the business in 10 to 20 years. Next is future proofing a succession plan. It is important that this shared vision must be well-defined, replete with measureable objectives and supported with very clear lines of communication and accountability, especially with the natural entry of next generation siblings and cousins.
I was in Boston last week for strategic coaching work and in between engagements, pursued collaborative studies at Harvard on how to create a resilient and dynamic organization of the future. I learned VUCA is here to stay and family businesses must evolve to overcome these dramatic changes.
So beyond the perks, entitlement and glamour of being an SOB (sons and daughters of business owners), successors must fully embrace the commitment, the hard work, the long hours and the pursuit of a strategic “big idea” that goes with the succession plan. This is what strategic planning is all about.
Jane Hilbert-Davis, a Boston-based consultant, defined strategic planning as “simply creating a plan of action. Originally from the Greek roots, ‘ster,’ which means to spread out, usually in a military sense, and ‘ag’ to drive or to lead, the word ‘strategy’ conjures up images of preparing for battle, or competition. It’s different from ‘vision,’ which is a future imagined, a hope of how things can be in the ‘farther into the future’ horizon, 10 to 20 years from now.”
A strategic plan describes how you can get there. It’s about making decisions in the present for the future and usually involves a three to five-year time frame. It is both written and lived. It cannot be pieces of paper stuck in a drawer and forgotten, but must be thought through carefully. It should reflect a flexibility and readiness to whatever the future may bring.
So I pose this challenge to business owners: What is your vision, your shared values and your mission? What strategies should you follow to reach your goals before passing the baton? What structures and people do you need for the business to succeed? What is your succession plan? What are your contingency plans in handling a business crisis? How about a death in the family? Sibling rivalry? Questions related to ownership, management of shares, who are qualified to own, inheritance, entry of in-laws, extended family members?
Many business owners recognize the importance of ownership and management transition, but few know where and how to start in developing collaborative leaders that will take the business to the future.
To be continued.