Succession planning: How shared foundations help family businesses
- Rachel Vigers
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Family businesses come with their own breed of challenges, especially when it comes to succession planning. Rock's 4-Foundations Framework cuts through any politics, assumptions & (un)spoken tensions to give family businesses a shared, strong way forward.
Here's how...
Succession isn’t just a legal process, handover or change of job titles.
It’s a shift in identity.
A transition of power.
A series of moments where relationships, expectations & legacy collide.
Succession is where many ambitious family-run SMEs struggle - often simply because alignment hasn’t been built properly first.
No matter how strong the business is currently or how strong the individuals leading it, without strategic alignment across the different family members, the business will lose momentum at the very moment it should be preparing to take the next big leap.
If this is a pain you're feeling, defining shared foundations is a good place to start.
Not dysfunctional but complex
Family businesses are built with a level of emotional investment that most big businesses can only dream of. They have the potential to be as strong as any other - in some ways, stronger. But the very strengths that make them special can also cause huge challenges.
The upsides of family businesses:
Deep trust & loyalty
Long-term thinking (in theory)
Pride in product, service & community
A built-in sense of a shared 'something special'
A founder’s resilience that can shape the culture
The challenges:
Unspoken expectations
Different generations with different priorities
Decision-making based on personality not strategy (hello, nepotism!)
Personal agendas compromising business agendas
Lack of diversity leading to "groupthink' with narrow perspectives & low innovation levels
Resistance to change (“This is how we’ve always done it”)
Firefighting becoming the default operating mode
It's these challenges that cause many consultants to run a mile from working with a family business - citing them as 'dysfunctional' or 'difficult to work with'. But not Rock.Partners. Rock's founder, Rachel Vigers, witnessed first hand the complex dynamic in her own family business - which, at various stages, comprised her father, one or two of her three brothers & (very briefly & dysfunctionally) her uncle. In addition, over the course of her career, Rachel has gone on to provide strategic business or brand support to several family businesses - in retail, entertainment, utilities, consultancy/training, travel, tourism, & financial services - &, in her words...
"With family businesses, succession planning is one trigger that keeps on firing."
What stops succession going smoothly...
Two of the biggest barriers to smooth succession in family businesses are misplaced priorities & resistance to change.
1. Misplaced priorities
Non-family businesses (at least those who manage their talent well) tend to hire on skillset, capabilities, attitude & cultural fit. In theory, the right people are recruited for the right roles & the strength of the business as a whole is the main priority. Where clashes arise, they can be managed appropriately - sometimes requiring an individual to leave the business.
In family businesses, priorities can get muddled. Which means individuals, even senior execs, can be recruited based on bloodline or relationship alone, regardless of their ability to adequately perform the role or "fit" with the business' goals & culture. If a family hire isn't working, but blood is considered thicker than business, there's no easy way to resolve the problem.
When the relationship between individuals matters more than the business as a whole, that misplaced allegiance can be detrimental to all parties - key relationships are guarded like badges of honour, customers are targeted based on who-knows-who (not whether they're a good fit or not), hiring decisions are nepotistic, communication is compromised & the brand ends up undermined.
In a battle between "Family" vs "Business", no one's going to win.
It's not a case of saying business beats family or vice versa - but, without prioritising the business' needs, the family risks not having a business to pass on to future generations.
2. Resistance to change
Over time, every business naturally develops & evolves (if they don't, they fail) - & it's easy for business, brand & behaviour to fall out of sync a little.
However, when next-gen leaders enter the fray, bringing bold new perspectives & seeing new, different opportunities, it can be a culture shift with seizmic implications.
Tapping into the next generation mindset, skills & ambitions should be an area where (theoretically at least) family businesses have an advantage but, if there's been little change at a senior level for a long time, then convention & habit can feel far more comfortable than intention & adaption...
In this situation, younger generations may not feel comfortable raising their ideas with the incumbent family members for fear of causing upset or offense. Sometimes, they do speak out, only to get met with a wall of resistance - the age-old mentality of "that's not how we do things around here!".
And what about the rest of the business - who perhaps aren't part of the family & find themselves witnesses to a widening strategic & cultural chasm? Secession is a tricky time for them too. Depending on how well the business is doing at the time, the rest of the team may be crying out for a long overdue change or, alternatively, feeling seriously apprehensive about what's ahead!
In either case, stability, confidence & hope need to be demonstrated by the business leaders.
Succession planning should be a welcome opportunity to take stock, to bring fresh perspectives & insights into the business - all within the business' best interests. Sometimes though, the only family members who get to succeed to senior positions are the ones that don't rock an old boat.
This is dangerous because change is unavoidable & narrow or nostalgic perspectives can lead to a distorted sense of the current business reality or its potential.
Times change, markets move & customers move on. Trends shift & technology never stops. If you don't acknowledge it & adapt or react to it, you'll get left behind.
It's not that either generation is inherently right or wrong - it's more a case of finding common ground to build on.
Why Rock's way works
Unfortunately, most family businesses only realise they lack strategic alignment when succession is already on the table. By then, emotions are high, timelines are short & the stakes are heavy - bringing in independent strategic support, with the business' best interests at heart, is one way to reduce tensions & increase focus.
One Strategy - No Silos
Rock's distinctive approach is different to most strategic advisers.
We focus on 4 core foundations - Direction, Connection, Impact & Value.
Why? Because these are straightforward success factors that everyone can sign up to - regardless of role, experience, seniority or relationship. They form a common ground for business, brand & behaviour to be built strategically - strong & in sync.
Through working with Rock.Partners, you'll end up with a clear, robust framework that everyone in your business can follow - so you're all pulling in the same direction, not a dozen different ones!
Think of your family business like a choir, with your foundations strategy being the song-sheet that everyone sings to; providing a clear, relatable structure to help support decision making & hold everything steady in the face of change (&, for family businesses, there are few changes as significant as succession!)
In your business' best interests But it's not just the output that works - it's the process too.
When defining a company's foundations, Rock takes a robust, balanced & consultative approach
we do our homework - researching your sector & competitors to provide additional data points
we talk to your team - not just management & family members but a cross-representative sample of people who work for you, across every department & at every level (this is especially important in family businesses where non-family members can feel "out-of-the-loop")
we can even talk to your clients, partners, advisers or key suppliers - to gain their insights & perspective too.
plus, of course, we bring our own independent perspective & expertise that holds a mirror up to your business.
And, whilst we'll carefully consider all of the diverse data points & perspectives, our ultimate priority will always be what's best for the business as a whole.
Throughout it all, we'll bring you on the journey - listening & learning right alongside us.
It's not unusual for Rock's clients to shift mindsets completely - from resisting or feeling uncomfortable about change to embracing it with confidence and enthusiasm.
Rock's ready for you!
If you’re a founder or director of a family-owned SME & succession is becoming a conversation (or a concern!), Rock is ready for you.
Drop us a DM at info@rock.partners
or get a GRIT Session booked in.
About us:
Led by experienced Business & Brand Consultant, Rachel Vigers, Rock.Partners works with a broad sector client base of owner-managed SMEs determined to build stronger businesses & brands without having to die on a strategic hill in the process!
We help businesses & brands to get strong, stay strong & exit strong through:
Foundations Strategy: getting clarity on Direction, Connection, Impact & Value though Managed or Guided programmes:
FAST Foundations strategy sprints & workshops
FIRM Foundations strategy programmes, including research & consultation
Training, Coaching & Mentoring for self-delivered strategic programmes
Alignment Support: mentoring, training & programme delivery support across commercial, creative & cultural workflows, partner outsourcing & management (our wide partner network, combined with Rock's in-house capabilities, allow us to coordinate everything from setting OKRs to financial modelling, from restructuring service packages to full repositioning & rebrands, from internal engagement to executive coaching).
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