Proactive Family Business Successors

This article is an edited transcription of a seminar titled "Successful Habits of Family Business Successors" that was delivered to the Family Business Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the Fluno Center for Executive Education. Seventy percent of all family businesses fail to make the transition of ownership and management from the first generation to the second generation. In this article I focus on the success rate. Through my research I have identified the common characteristics of successful successors. I call these common characteristics the Seven Habits of Highly Successful Successors.

Review:

"Dean Fowler's presentation to the UW-Madison Family Business Center - now transcribed as "Proactive Family Business Successors - was exceptionally well-received by the program attendees based on about 100 evaluations completed by the 125 attendees. His educational presentation was interestingly infused with anecdotes based on his years of family business consulting and leading successor groups. Dean Fowler's program on succession planning speaks loudly to the succeeding generation - a perspective that is less commonly presented. I highly recommend this presentation to everyone". Ann Kinkade, Past Director UW-Madison Family Business Center