Be honest – how many times has something like this happened to you? Your company is working on a big project and your team members have defined roles. One of your employees runs into a roadblock with an assignment and comes to you for...
When you were younger, did you ever participate in a spelling bee? I recently reconnected with some childhood friends and it reminded me of something I hadn’t thought of in a long time – the day I lost the 5th grade spelling bee. I...
When it comes to succession, it’s usually a senior leader who initiates and spearheads the transition process. In a previous blog (Succession Planning: Why It Matters, Matters), we explored how important it is for that leader to have a strong and focused rationale for...
During the mid-1930s, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello introduced their famous vaudeville comedy sketch “Who’s on First?” about a fictitious baseball team. As they try to communicate with each other about the various players, the conversation becomes more and more confusing. Toward the end...
If you’ve spent any time around the family business arena, you’ve come across the number: 70% of family companies don’t make it to a second generation, either because the business fails or for other reasons a decision is made to sell to a third...
Many leaders, when they think about succession, have a narrow definition in mind. For example, one owner might be lasered in on who will own shares in the future and whether to sell or transfer them. Another may be preoccupied with who will be...
Early in our business lives, we adopted the mantra “Think – Plan – Do.” It has long been a reminder to us to dream big, plan ahead and execute well. In that order. But sometimes, we find ourselves thinking up good ideas, and then...
At the end of every year, we take some time to work on our long-range plans. We get away from the office to review the year, including our successes and disappointments. We share goals for ourselves, our family, our business and as a couple....
We’ve just taken down the Holiday decorations and packed them safely away for another year. The last to be wrapped in tissue is always our Golden Retriever-slash-Angel tree topper in memory of Max, a sweet girl who was part of our family for almost...
Here’s a question to ask the managers in your family business: “What kind of employees do we want to have in our workforce? Employees who think for themselves? Or workers who mechanically do only what we tell them to do, exactly when and how...
At a recent meeting, a business family I’ve been working with expressed how frustrated they were with the lack of apparent progress toward their succession goals. As the conversation began, the group appeared to be divided, with half insisting, “it’s not all that bad,”...
If your family business has communication problems, you're not alone. There are an estimated 24 million family businesses in America, ranging from your corner gas station to corporate giants like Walmart and Hallmark. Regardless of size, however, many family businesses rank communication among the...
It has been suggested that many family business problems stem from the inherent conflict between the distinct, yet overlapping parts of the family business system. Each part of the family business system – business, family and ownership – has a distinct set of needs,...
When You Come to a Fork in the Road… Take It – Yogi Berra Each of us makes hundreds of decisions every day – from what to wear to when to eat to whether to drive to work or take the train. Many of...
Running a successful family business requires broad experience and a diversity of talents – talents that not even the most capable families can guarantee generation after generation. In addition, qualified on family executives can help a family business grow by contributing fresh ideas and...
In Greek mythology, there’s only one figure whose character matures over time: Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, immortalized in Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey. The poem mainly centers on Odysseus and his long journey home after the fall of Troy. During his absence,...
Most leaders accept that at some time in the future, their time at the helm will end and the business will be given into the care of the next leader. However, just thinking about the transition can be daunting and overwhelming for the senior leader. If that weren’t enough, most owners experience their own succession just once. Tandem Partners provides the experience and professional guidance needed to move through the strategic, operational and interpersonal issues that are all a part of transition.
When it comes to developing leaders and teams, one size does not fit all. Your business is unique, and has specific strategies and capabilities that drive it forward. We help you identify and develop the specific leadership competencies that make you who you are as an organization and who you’d like to be. We work with leadership teams on the real issues they’re facing now, helping them to see more, be more, do more and lead more effectively, together.
For families in business, success is not just measured in fiscal years, but over generations. Yet often, leaders are so focused on the day-to-day that they aren’t able to step back and focus on the issues that impact long-term sustainability. We help leadership teams assess where they are now, where they’re trying to go and how they’re going to get there. Our expertise in the areas of organizational strategy, structure, process and performance is a unique feature of our work, and integral to our transition management approach.
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