Succession is a process that takes place over many years. Often families fail to plan adequately for the many aspects of succession. The Fowler Family Business and Family Wealth Assessment provides a starting point to explore this complex process in the areas of Financial planning, Business Planning, Management Planning, and Individual Development. All areas need to be addressed in a multi-disciplinary effort including law, accounting, finance as well as the emotional aspects and relationships.

 The Fowler assessment guards against the bias of various professionals providing a solution in their area of expertise rather than objectively assessing all areas and looking for a root cause. Often a root cause is communication or other family dynamics which is inhibiting the family from adequate planning. Real Talk maintains relationships and consults with trusted advisors in complementary fields of law, account, and estate planning to ensure that adequate planning is being done in all areas.

If leadership succession is an issue, we use Hogan Assesment tools to take a look at family talent as well as non-family executives.  We work with candidates on leadership strengths and derailers and determine together if they can be coached and developed further as  leaders or if it is best to entrust their asset to a professional managers. Similarly, they may be more than one family member interested in executive leadership; the Hogan as well as open communication about the process helps addresses wounds of favoritism which may fester over years and decades and eventually cause a breakdown in relationships.

Goverance must also be addressed in each sector as well: The Family, The Ownership and The Business. If the Family does not have their act together and is not an effective decision-making group, they are not capable of leading the Board of Directors with a vision. A weak or directionless board cannot adequately direct the Management or hold them accountable. Failure to come together as a family is tantamount to negligence in terms of managing your collective asset and wealth. There is a reason why the sentiment expressed by the saying "Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" is a common saying in many different languages.