The owners are children of the founder, and are taking over management since their father became severely disabled or passed away.  The Sisters, early in their careers, were not allowed or encouraged to work in the business by their father, and due to his problems, began trying to manage a business they have little knowledge of.  As Time went on, power plays between the sisters and their brother (who lived far away), resulted in loss of sales, employee theft & defection, and financial losses.  The new owners wanted to turn the business around with a management tea

A Nationally Ranked company is struggling to grow sales and profitability.  Over the prior years, management has gone through several COO's as high growth affected leadership.  The CEO is looking for help in mentoring his new COO so that the company can get back on track.  The Organization is in need of new IT systems, team systems, and new approaches, as well as growth strategies.  There are several family members working in the company, none working in senior management.

The Children of the Owners are at odds with their parents in what direction the company should go.  Sales have been fairly flat for the past few years, or the company is at a strategic crossroad, where critical decisions are needed.  The parents appear unreasonable, risk adverse, and unwilling to try new things.  The Owners are frustrated that the Next Generation has no appreciation for the knowledge and experience they have, and they feel the children have no understanding on making a profit.  The Children resent the parents meddling in business details, and are

Business has been growing rapidly. The CEO's short temper is  caused by frustration with his management team, who are working very hard but not getting enough done.

CEO wants to develop the next generation of management, but is concerned with how the process will work with issues of family or key managers affecting the decision. In some cases, the CEO wonders if his/her offspring are ready to take over, or is an outside manager a better fit until they are ready.

CEO of family or privately held business is planning for retirement, but is concerned with how the business will be managed after he/she reduces time at the office.

CEO of a growing company is nearing retirement.  The management team is not deep or ready to take over.  There are no family members active in the company, and there is talk of selling to an ESOP.  We assessed the organization with a SWOT analysis and long term financial forecasts to position the management team for the buy-out.  In addition, we assisted the organization with team building, process mapping, and value stream mapping systems.  Additionally, the owner began to develop a board of directors, using the advisory board process to eventually convert t

• Strategic and succession planning for closely- held, or family owned business organizations Including ESOPS and Non-Profits
• Governance board/advisory board development, including roles and responsibilities for shareholders, beneficiaries, trustees, directors, officers and chair/CEO.
• Retreats for Key Managers, Family or Boards (One day or Multi-day)
• Mergers & Acquisitions: Pre- & Post Transaction- Organizational Integration Assessments
• Family or partnership conflict resolution and goverance systems (family councils)

Statistically, nearly half of the ESOPS will not survive the next 10 years due to many factors.  Our distinction within the ESOP community is our ability to integrate ownership culture initiatives, with succession, governance and improved shareholder value. During this same 10 years, about 20% of the workforce will be retiring, leaving huge gaps of institutional knowledge and leadership experience.  In the last 5 years, over 1,000 esops changed their CEO or CFO, causing challenges in leadership experience. Is your company at risk with these issues?