Family Business Owner

-- Do you frequently struggle between the needs of your family and the needs of your business?

-- Have you delayed important decisions for fear of hurting loved ones?

-- Are you compromising business strategies due to family relationships?

-- Are you frustrated trying to align your personal/family goals with the long-term success of your business?

-- Are you concerned that your dreams will not come true? Do you know what your dreams are?

-- Do you dream that your children will take over the business upon your retirement? How confident are you that they have the skills .. ...necessary to succeed?

-- Are you under pressure to choose a successor, even though you question the skills of available candidates (family and non-family)?

-- Do you worry that your successor may dramatically change the direction and values of the business that you worked years to create?

-- Are you concerned that others may not accept your decision of their next leader?

-- Is the question of "blood" relatives vs. "non-blood" candidates a significant issue in choosing a successor?

-- Will your decision have an adverse reaction on family relationships?

-- Do you worry that others may not accept the next leader?

-- Will the succession process, your last act of greatness, crash and burn?

-- Do you avoid the issue of succession for fear of losing key people once a decision is announced?

-- Do you put off making long-term plans for your business? Your family? Your retirement?

-- How do you organize and plan for your family's future. Your business' future?

-- How do you decide whether to perpetuate family business ownership?

-- Have you thought about your legacy, and how today's actions are shaping your destiny?

-- How would you like to be remembered by your professional colleagues, friends, and loved ones?

-- What have you done to begin preparing the next generation to take over?

-- Is your crystal of the future clear or blurry?

-- What makes your family successful as a family?

-- What are the central values of your family?

-- How can family values strengthen the business' strategy?

-- How do you preserve rich traditions while assuring flexibility and change?

-- What has the family done to nurture the development of the next generation?

-- What has your family done to enhance communication? Resolve conflict?

-- How confident are you that your critical decisions will ensure survival of the family? Survival of the business?

-- Will future generations share your values?

-- Are family members running towards or away from each other?

Individual Family Member:

-- What activities/responsibilities have been the most energizing, rewarding for you up to now?

-- What are your passions? Values?

-- Have you achieved an appropriate balance between your work, family and leisure time?

-- What role(s) do you have in the family business?

-- In what ways has the family business helped you realize your dreams and goals?

-- What would you like to do, personally and professionally, over the next 5 years? 10 years?

-- What is your purpose in life?

-- How would you like to be remembered?

Family:

-- How would you describe your family? What adjectives come to mind?

-- What makes the family successful as a family?

-- What are the family traditions? How does the family celebrate various occasions?

-- Who leads the family? How would you describe the roles of the various family members?

-- How committed are family members to staying together in the business?

-- What has the family done to pass on its values to the next generation?

-- How would you describe the family's method of communication? Methods to resolve conflict?

-- Is the family active in the community? How?

Business:

-- What is the family business?

-- What is the business strategy?

-- Who leads the business? What are the roles of family members?

-- Do you wrestle with aligning your personal and family values and dreams with those of the business?

-- Describe key non-family staff members: their role, importance to the business?

-- What are the business' key strategic advantages?

-- What are the significant business challenges over the next 3-5 years?

-- Is there a succession process? Describe.

-- Who monitors performance of the company? Who monitors performance of senior leaders?

-- Who determines compensation?

-- What training is provided for senior leaders?

-- What is the relationship between family members in the business? Between family member and non-family members?

Ownership:

-- How are shares divided among family and non-family?

-- How is control divided among family and non-family?

-- Does one person own the company? Siblings? Other family members?

-- Describe the ownership structure?

-- Is there a Board of Directors? Are they effective?

-- Is there a Board of Advisors? Are they effective?

-- Is there a family council? How does it function?

-- Who are key advisors to the business?

-- Is there a policy on how shares are distributed?