17 November

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Strengthening alignment in family businesses

Synopsis The real issues need to be addressed at the fundamental level. The issues are: a) misalignment of values between the promoters, the board and the management team, and b) lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities. After losing the test series, the Indian Cricket team also lost the one-day series with South Africa recently. While winning and losing are part of the game, the recent misalignment between the BCCI President and former Captain does raise a few questions about the impact of such differences on the field and on the game. We have also seen such scenarios play out in the...

08 November

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Preventing family wars: How to avoid conflicts in family businesses

Posted by BAF Consultants

in newspaper articles, The Economic Times

Family businesses are captivating as their values are naturally woven in the company’s culture and they create a multigenerational legacy. However, at the same time, they are at risk to Family Wars that can engulf them. War is a strong word, but feelings run high enough in families to merit it as rightly pointed out in the book 'Family Wars: Stories and Insights from Family Business Feuds' by Grant Gordon and Nigel Nicholson. We have seen tragedies where a once legendary business empire disintegrated into small units. Hinduja Family Group, one of the world’s largest conglomerates, seems to be under...

10 March

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Building and sustaining a professional culture for a family business’s growth

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Financial Express, newspaper articles

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Professional mindset of the senior leadership team or managers means that they must be functional experts who are always looking for new ideas and better ways of accomplishing the tasks. Their emphasis is on making and refining the structures and processes so that dependence on them is the least. Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: “A family business is a never-ending journey, one that is continually evolving. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on something, things change, and you have to adapt quickly and efficiently.” This quote by Genette Gregson, CEO of Australia-based...

11 February

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What it takes for a successful implementation of leadership transition in a family business

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Financial Express, newspaper articles

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Leadership transition plan is essentially a clear process with guidelines for transfer of responsibilities from outgoing to incoming leaders. There are three parts of this process – identifying and selecting successors, coaching them and giving them opportunities to start leading. Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Professionalisation of family businesses for growth requires timely leadership transition. In the absence of a leadership transition plan, when a leader dies or has a disability, there is a crisis in business as more often than not the leadership team is caught off guard and there is no clear allocation of...

05 January

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Bridging Generational Divide in Family Businesses Through Communication

Posted by BAF Consultants

in newspaper articles, Outlook India

Recognising the importance of intergenerational communication, having shared spaces and creating opportunities for interaction can go a long way in facilitating better understanding and trust among family members across generations It was a life of struggles for the family when my grandfather died unexpectedly at a young age, my 85-year-old grandmother recalls. “Suddenly, we had nothing. However, we never spoke about it outside. We did not ask anyone for anything. Our lifestyle did not change when we had nothing. And, it has not changed now when we have everything again.” Those words, spoken casually while I watched The Crown season 5 on...

31 December

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Leadership transition in professionalising a family business

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Financial Express, newspaper articles

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Amidst the pressures of today’s fast-paced and uncertain life, it is imperative to plan leadership transition in family businesses beforehand. Deep emotional acceptance, mindset shift, and working on an agreed plan is required both from the outgoing leader and their successor. Many family business owners expect their children to lead the family business without discovering whether they wish to do so or are capable of doing so. By Simran Senani Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Leadership transition in a family business is a deeply emotional yet crucial part of their professionalisation journey. Even though owners realise that transitioning...

02 December

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Incorporating a professional mindset across the organisation in family businesses

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Financial Express, newspaper articles

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Building a professional culture begins with the promoters and senior leadership team becoming professionals in their attitude and behaviour. Many family businesses inherit the founding generation’s dreams, principles and behaviour which motivate them and set them apart. By Simran Senani Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: “Family and Business are two of the most powerful forces in the world. Our families provide our nature in the form of our genes and much of our nurture. Businesses employ our most valuable resources – our people, our time, our capital. When combined, family and business amplify their impact and their complexity.” These...

29 November

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Why incorporating a professional mindset in family businesses is key to their success?

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Financial Express, newspaper articles

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: It is usually seen that many family businesses established well by the founding generation grow till their lifetime, however, very few are able to sustain that pace in succeeding generations as well. One of the key and crucial steps for the growth of a family business is embarking upon the culture-building journey. By Simran Senani Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Growing a business is no picnic. Understanding the market, hiring the right professionals, enhancing technical expertise, focusing on financial management, setting up systems and processes, etc. are all required on an ongoing basis. However, despite getting all these factors...

28 October

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Engaging the young in family business culture

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Financial Times, newspaper articles

Heads of family businesses must find new ways to engage with their children to help with the transition of values and knowledge Many family businesses today are struggling to ensure the transmission of family values to the next generation. “We live in the same house, but we barely talk to each other.” “How do we teach our children about what is right and what is wrong?” “So now I need help to talk to my son.” We hear similar complaints from many business families in the course of our academic work across India. With the diversion of the internet, the smartphone and Netflix,...

01 October

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Learnings from Next Gen Family Leader’s Dairy

Posted by BAF Consultants

in Coaching

“Hosh mein toh ho? Yeh civil contractor ka kaam khud karna chahti ho?” “Are you out of your mind? You want to work as a civil contractor?” My real journey as a next gen family business leader started 10 years ago with this dialogue. It was the first instance of difference in opinion between me and my dad. I was frustrated and hurt. At that point, I just had to agree with him and move on. A decade later, I’m much better at managing such differences, reining in the emotions and juggling between the different hats of an owner, manager and daughter. Or at...

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Author: BAF Consultants