Are Successors Asking the Right Questions?

Philip Mackeown is an author, career coach, and fifth-generation business director. After spending 25 years working in his family’s leading food retail group in Ireland, the Musgrave Group, Philip set out to write the book he wished he’d read upon entering the family business.

His book, “The Successor’s Voice”, is a practical guide aimed at empowered family enterprise successors looking to develop, grow, and make a difference in their roles. Join Philip as he discusses the succession process from the perspective of the successor and why he feels preparation brings key advantages to the opportunity.

-Intentionally, or unintentionally, many families put pressure on their next generation to join the business, often asking leading questions about their inevitable involvement. Consequently, successors can view their role through the lens of the family’s needs, instead of their own. Rather than answering the question of when they will join the business, successors would be better served asking themselves if they’ve taken command of the value they bring.

-Family business continuity depends on several factors, from asset growth to asset stewardship and a host of other details in between. But building family consensus is equally important. A critical task for successors is fostering agreement among family members that the enterprise will continue to progress forward from one point to the next, and the next again.

-Successors who take agency over their role and its function are better prepared for meaningful development and superior outcomes in their family’s business. A part of that is acknowledging how being a successor will probably always inform who they are and the approach they choose in their family enterprise and other professional contexts.

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“The Successors Voice” is available at http://www.philipmackeown.ie/