Videos

Running a family business is a journey that has a destination.  The point of a succession plan is to safely get you to the destination. A good succession plan makes the difference between a good landing and a bumpy one.

When a family business is transferred, you often receive a great deal more than just assets, especially if it’s a farm business. Typically the package comes complete with traditions and family history. While these can provide a sense of direction and pride, more often it leaves the next generation feeling trapped.

The reason landmines are so dangerous is they are unseen; hidden just barely beneath the surface so as not to be seen but close enough to result in maximum destruction. Dr. John Fast warns of landmines in the family business.

Dr. John fast walks us through the symptoms that plague many farm families attempting to turn the business over to the next generation…it’s a condition known as ‘founderitis.’

One of the toughest things to talk about openly in the farm business is “how do we treat our children with our assets?” Certified family business coach Elaine Froese addresses the key question “what do you owe your kids?’

There is a passage in the good book that reads, “Without a vision the people perish.”  Dr. John Fast explains that the survival of the farm business depends on establishing and communicating a common vision.

Elaine uses the “bull” metaphor to help families address the “undiscussabull” which exists in nearly every family business.

Every so often we have a spring that is so wet the online world begins to circulate the best stuck tractor pictures. Elaine Froese says soft issues make up the muck that has many farm families buried to the axles.