Family Business Conflict
Behind every Family Business lies a Business Family. And yet … Families and Business are naturally incompatible entities based on fundamentally conflicted concepts.
They contradict each other at every major inflexion point:
And yet, family business is, and always has been, by far the most common form of business ownership structure all around the world.
Like marriage, the romantic vision of “family” is rarely matched by reality. Over time people, circumstances, relationships, and dreams change … and threats to personal satisfaction, along with challenges to peace and harmony, grow stronger. Long term relationship success may look effortless from the outside, but it takes a lot of hard work to hold it all together.
Few families make it past their 3rd generation in business together. Some separations and terminations are planned and amicable, many are caused by family conflict associated with the family’s business, or its wealth, although the true causes of conflict usually have their roots in the family’s history, domestic culture, emotional baggage, and personality differences.