Governance is a big word that often scares people off. It does NOT have to be that way, nor should it. It is a fancy word, but its meaning is much simpler. Governance is just the way the family and the business will structure things, communicate, and make decisions.
Okay, so the word is not that complex, but it seems to cover a lot of serious areas, that is true.
But there is a lot of good that comes out of having governance structures in place in both a business and a family,
There is no need to develop governance structures just for the heck of it. Nor is it necessary, or even advisable, to do a lot of it in one fell swoop.
I refer to development of governance for the very reason that it is not something one institutes overnight, but rather “slowly but surely”, as needed, where needed, and as the family and the business get used to doing things in a more formal way.
It is truly an incremental process, which means that one step is taken, confidence is gained and people see the benefits, and only then are the next steps even contemplated.
Some people work their butt off for their whole life trying to build a business for their family. They often dream about how great it will be for the family to work together with a common purpose. But the dream doesn’t always work out the way they imagined, because it is a LOT more complex than they ever imagined.
It isn’t usually the business part that trips them up, more often it is the family part. The roadblocks usually show up when it comes time to truly transition the business to the next generation, and this is where Steve comes in. He specializes in helping families turn their dream into a workable plan, using a step-by-step method to get everyone on the same page.
Once the family has completed his Business Family Continuity BluePrint, all family members will see the family’s goals, and they will understand their roles. Steve then helps them all figure out how they can move forward, working together.
Steve is a proud FEA Designate (IFEA) and holds ACBFA and ACFWA certifications (FFI), in addition to having an MBA (UWO-Ivey) He is also a CFA charterholder (CFA Institute), and the author of Shift your Family Business (Friesen Press, 2014)
