From Wal-Mart and Mars to the corner store in your neighborhood, about 90% of all U.S. businesses are family-owned or family-controlled. At any given time, a large percentage of these companies is facing a generational transition. Yet it’s reported that less than half have...
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...
Most leaders will encounter this dilemma at least once in their careers: An employee who’s pretty bad on some days and just good enough to get by on others. An employee who shows up consistently, but doesn’t ultimately contribute a whole lot. A manager...
As winter comes to an end, it’s a great time to clear out the cobwebs and invite fresh air into your business. Just as dust and dirt are a natural byproduct of living in our homes, clutter comes with normal business operations. Over time,...
As the final season of the hit series “Succession” unfolds, fans of the Roy family’s power struggles will be glued to their sets. While the show may be an overly dramatic portrayal of a family enterprise, it serves as a reminder that the critical...
Raise your hand if you love turning the clocks back in November and hate springing forward in March. Yeah, us too. That one lost hour can be so disorienting. And it’s not as if you didn’t already have enough on your mind and your...
By Margaret Wilson, Tandem Partners & Ann Quinn, Quinn Strategy Group We’re well into the new year now and the economy continues to give out mixed signals. Growth has slowed, but half a million jobs were added last month. Inflation is high but consumers are...
If you’re a senior leader in a family enterprise, you’re probably bombarded on a regular basis with pleas to begin succession planning: Your attorney is concerned about avoiding income and estate taxes, and disputes over control. Your CPA says you need an updated valuation...
Years ago there was a popular game show called What’s My Line?, in which blindfolded celebrity panelists played “20 Questions” to determine a mystery guest’s occupation. In many companies, there’s a similar guessing game going on: “Whose job is that?” “How did that decision...
In recent years, much has been written about leadership and the importance of playing to our strengths. While this is certainly essential, the reality is that other people more often pay attention to our bad habits than they do to our good deeds. In...
Have you ever noticed that family conflict seems to surface more around the Holidays than at any other time of year? For many families, Thanksgiving is a time to gather together, share a meal and renew family ties. Unfortunately for others, it’s an opportunity...
Running an early stage business often poses the classic “can’t see the forest for the trees” dilemma. You’re so focused on the next project, the next sale or the next new hire that you may not see the larger picture of where your business...
Recently, Margaret Wilson appeared on Java with Jim Ries, Director of Business Development at Offit | Kurman to discuss the origin of Tandem Partners and its dedication to helping families, owners and businesses in transition....
Employee burnout is real. And while it’s not new, during COVID it got worse. During the last two years, compounding pressures including hybrid work and high turnover have impacted the stress that employees feel, their ability to do their work, and whether they’ll look...
Like many of you, we belong to professions that require us to be licensed or certified to practice. Every year, Tandem Partners coaches and consultants engage in continuing education, just like our friends who are social workers, engineers, estheticians, and architects. We do it...
Has anyone complained to you recently about a lack of communication in your organization? Are you hearing that people feel like they don’t know what’s going on? Maybe you’ve even privately thought this to yourself. Or maybe, like others in this time of resignations...
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...
By Margaret Wilson & Ann Quinn | As the world emerges from the global pandemic and many people resume their normal activities, organizational leaders are faced with new questions...
All relationships come with their own unique merits and challenges. But is there any more supercharged than between a...
By Margaret Wilson & Ann Quinn | This time last year, we thought we were looking back on the longest 12 months ever. We couldn’t have known then that 2021 would be equally challenging and memorable. Yet even now, when things have...
No one knows exactly when people started making New Year’s resolutions, but whenever that was, the habit of breaking them probably started a few weeks later. Failed resolutions are such a common occurrence that a lot of leadership coaches aren’t in favor of making...
One of the top priorities for leaders post-COVID is to build teams that work well together to drive strategy forward. Sounds like a no brainer, right? Great strategy and great teams have always been a business goal. But the truth is, they haven’t always...
It has been famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Take a second to think about that. The people you spend time with can lift you up or bring you down. We all need other...
You were born with your IQ, and you’ve developed your EQ, but how would you rate your PQ? IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, is a number resulting from one of several standardized tests. IQ is used to assess someone’s cognitive ability as compared to the population...
Some unusual events have surrounded the Summer Games since the first modern Olympics in 1896 – wars, boycotts, and this year, a pandemic and an absence of spectators. But the Games went on, and the Olympians persevered. We all know it takes more than...
As we celebrate Independence Day, freedom is very much on our minds. It is fitting to reflect on the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson who said, “…let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollection of these rights, and our undiminished devotion to...
One day, a son walked into his father's office. His father sat behind the desk, wearing a baseball cap with the word "Boss" on the front. Looking up at his son, the father said, “I’m glad you stopped by. I’m sorry to have to...
How we as business leaders deal with our most pressing concerns about driving growth, developing leaders, managing change, and so many other issues, depends largely on whether we’re able to see old problems in new ways. That’s certainly true in a family enterprise, where...
Last month’s news that Jeff Bezos was stepping down as Amazon’s CEO put succession planning in the headlines. But you don’t have to be the third biggest company in the world to be concerned about succession. Every day, hundreds of business leaders wrestle with...
In January 2011, when we re-launched Tandem Partners, the economy was still recovering from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. If you think that move was ill-timed, you might be right. But at least we were in good company – Instagram, Lyft, Slack, Tinder and Impossible...
If you feel like you’re slowly crawling your way to the end of the year like an exhausted runner to the finish line, you’re not alone. It has been one of the most challenging years we can remember, and we’re all exhausted. Like many...
All over the world, companies have been challenged by the pandemic to adapt and find new ways of working. Flexible structures and “flatarchies” have emerged to support rapid response and decision-making. Remote work has kept businesses operational and many will stay with at least...
The longest suspension bridge around may not be the Mackinac or the Golden Gate, but the span between generations in a family enterprise. More often than not, the emphasis in succession planning begins with the senior generation and their pressing concerns. When do they...
In this pandemic year, back-to-school has taken on a new, and very confusing meaning. Depending on the region, schools may not be fully reopening - while others have announced virtual learning until later in the year. Traditional jitters have been magnified by the uncertainty...
It's too early to tell, but a shift in perspective on succession may be playing out in organizations all across the country. Over the last few months, the magnitude of a global crisis has caused many leaders to re-examine their priorities. In some companies,...
By the end of May, all 50 states had begun easing the restrictions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. In many places now, people can go back to restaurants and retail stores – yet not everyone is ready to venture out....
Has anyone else noticed a rash of aggressive driving lately? It seems that some people are taking advantage of the empty roads to drive at excessively high speeds. And reckless driving is far from the worst behavior that’s been making headlines over the last...
It’s been interesting to see over the last several weeks how people are adapting to life in a pandemic. Our ways of learning, moving, shopping and cooking have all changed. Our ways of working have shifted too, as technology enables and alters the way...
Here at Tandem Partners HQ, we’re entering week six of our new work-from-home, stay-at-home life, as are many of you. People are still sick, stores are still closed, and business is still taking place inside four walls and our computer screens. But also, people...
It’s safe to say that the last month has kicked us way out of our comfort zones and the routines we took for granted. This crisis has also disrupted the way leaders are interacting with their teams, and not just in the working-from-home sense....
The willow that bends to the tempest often escapes better than the oak which resists it. -- Albert Schweitzer What a month it has been. The last few weeks have been dominated by a barrage of sobering headlines, new working-from-home schedules, and all kinds of big...
Yesterday our state moved into new Stay-At-Home orders, and it really hit me: We’re going through what will probably be a life-changing experience on a worldwide scale. People everywhere are in defensive mode, scrambling to protect their health, their families and their livelihoods. Business...
Over the last week, we’ve been in touch with many leaders who are struggling with everything from crisis communication and resource planning to rapid decision making and managing employee fears. The Coronavirus is changing our lives and work in ways we don’t yet fully...
The If-I-Want-Something-Done-I’ll-Do-It-Myself Solution - A business owner named Sue had initiated a succession process at her company. Like many leaders, Sue struggled to relinquish responsibility to younger leaders. She’d always been reluctant to delegate, and often found herself re-doing others’ work. This tendency seemed to...
Four Principles for Preventing Culture Shock - Almost 20 years ago, America Online agreed to purchase Time Warner for $165 billion in what would be the biggest merger in history. People still talk about it today – not just because it was big, but because...
When you’re a leader, it’s easy to become preoccupied with your own significant workload. However, when that happens, you’re necessarily less available to your team. Of course, there will always be issues that you personally must attend to. But think about what it means...
6 Keys to Making it Work - Sigmund Freud famously said that “Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” And most people would agree: Having love and doing meaningful work are deeply connected to our satisfaction in life. But how do you manage...
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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