August 26, 2025

By Laurie Foster, Senior Consultant, Business Consulting Resources Whether it’s leaving your four-year-old for the first time at day care, sending your teenager to college, or handing over the company reins to your kids, letting go during family transitions is difficult. Parents approach this differently, ranging from ripping the band-aid off to hanging on for dear life, and everywhere in between. Most common is the Yo-Yo approach, where control is given and then grabbed back in a panic for control! Even the highly successful family business transitions take an inordinate amount of time and are filled with challenges. Parents have put their lives, their money, and their tender loving care into the business, often since inception. They cling on to control passionately and tightly manage the inherent risks. Therefore, transitions take time. For the younger generation, the family transitions are often painstaking. There are so many aspects of the business that can be improved and updated. Opportunity is everywhere, and waiting for Dad to understand and agree on the smallest of modifications seems desperately slow. For the current generation, the younger generation seems impatient and even impulsive at times. They don’t understand the big picture and resist proven methods of the past. Their ideas are interesting and often well received, but in small doses. The business needs a steady hand, and confidence in the younger generation’s ability to prioritize and manage the complexities is uncertain. 3 Keys to a Successful Family Transitions To lower the drama and accelerate the time frame, three keys to successful family transitions include: Older Gen: The next generation is not going to get it perfect (neither did you), and the business won’t fail as a result. Let them try, let them fail, and let them learn. Next Gen: Cool your jets and don’t jump ship. The older gen can and will get there. There is an end in sight, even if it seems painfully distant. What to do Next? So, whether you are just starting to think about succession or already in the thick of it, now is the time to make your transition plan a priority. Business Consulting Resources has 44 years of helping businesses plan successfully for succession. If you want to begin your succession plan, then lets get in contact!