Success in Succession Planning

We’ve talked about our pride and success as a family-owned small business manufacturer. One of the major concerns in any family-owned business is succession planning – planning for the future, when one generation of family is replaced in the workplace by the next. Of course, the nature of family business is typically that older members seem to never really leave, offering their expertise and advice (whether solicited or not) long after their retirement. Done correctly, though, succession planning represents the perfect merger of the lessons instilled by the older generation, and the innovation and promise of the newer.

It certainly takes both parts of that equation to make a family-owned business work. The business acumen and work ethic of the older generation must be taught and instilled, respectively, and this cannot happen overnight. Even for a younger generation that has grown up immersed in the world of that business, practices and processes must be learned and internalized. This is not to say that that next generation brings nothing to the table, though. Far from it: they represent the company’s future in every way. Their technological aptitude and familiarity combined with innovative new perspectives and ideas on the business are invaluable, especially in a quickly changing world. Why, there are many of us at Helander who remember the days of an internet presence consisting of a single email address and no website, and a machine shop consisting of a single CNC machine.

If neither of these technologies had been embraced, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. But the merger of expertise occurred, and here we are, ready to serve your needs.