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EO Uttar Pradesh · BAF Consultants

Fireside Chat with Ajay Sharma

Baidyanath Group — a 100+ year, three-generation family business, on the inner work, governance and internal alignment that keep a family together.

See What We'll Explore

Excerpts from the Book, Then an Open Conversation

The first 15–20 minutes draw on excerpts from Ajay Sharma’s book on inner work — the internal shifts that have to happen before any external, structural change in a family business. What follows is an open Q&A that moves from the personal to the structural: what has kept the Baidyanath Group together across three generations, and what it takes to build the same in any family enterprise.

Three Generations, One Institution

Ajay Sharma, Baidyanath Group

Ajay Sharma

Baidyanath Group

Has kept a 100+ year old family business going across three generations. Writes on the idea that internal realignment — confronting blind spots and ego within the family — has to come before any external change succeeds, whether that change is governance, professionalization, or succession.

Six Threads, One Conversation

01

Opening

What has kept three generations together, across 100+ years, under one roof and one business?

02

Governance

Family councils, boards, retreats — did this structure grow organically, or through deliberate, phased intervention?

03

Internal Change

Blind spots and ego don't fix themselves. Who inside the family took responsibility for that shift — and how are generational gaps navigated today?

04

Individual Aspirations

When family members build their own ventures alongside the main business, with a different purpose or ambition, how does the family make room for it?

05

Professionalization

Owners, owner-managers, and professionals — how is accountability held, performance measured, and rewards decided without breaking family harmony?

06

Closing

If a family in the room does only one thing after today to begin their own internal realignment, what should it be?

If a family in this room does only one thing after today to begin their own internal realignment, what would you tell them it should be?
Inherited Realigned Sustained

Who’s in the Room Today

Before the session, we asked attendees to share their business profile and their most pressing challenges. Here’s what 25 EO Uttar Pradesh members told us.

48%
Turnover of INR 50–250 Cr — the largest single band in the room
76%
Have two generations actively working in the business today
32%
Turnover of INR 250–1,000 Cr, with 4% above INR 1,000 Cr

What’s Actually Keeping Them Up at Night

Having the right team, and reducing dependence on one or two individuals10 of 25
Differences in thinking, working style, and culture across generations9 of 25
Systems, processes and institutionalising know-how — planning, budgeting, performance reviews, technology8 of 25
Unable to develop leaders internally, or hire and retain outside talent with real accountability8 of 25
Having honest conversations on issues that keep getting brushed under the carpet7 of 25
Mentoring the next generation and getting them motivated to join or lead7 of 25