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The Catalyst Consulting Collaborative provides a Strategic Management Process for Owner-Managed Businesses
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First, we recognize many activities to improve the health of the Family Business System must be tackled at the same time. An active and broadly representative Family Council can facilitate knowledge flow, foster business and family pride, and help identify and resolve interpersonal/interbranch disharmony. It can initiate and manage a Family Assembly to maximize inclusion and participation, collect and synthesize family values and policies, and separate family issues from governance and business issues. Formal Governance and Ownership processes can create forums for policies, decision-making, share transfer, income distribution, external wealth management, succession and transition planning, and philanthropy, as well as to incorporate the goals and expectations of family members. Strategic Planning can anticipate and address changes in the business environment, document the factors that have led to business success, and identify the right decisions to be made collectively by the Governance group.
We offer experienced professionals in each of these areas. Regardless of specific functional expertise, each of our consultants has practical experience in guiding organizations through the process of transformational change, as well as handling the complexity of advising family businesses.
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Second, we approach each assignment as an integrated, multidisciplinary team. We assign experts to each circle and manage our engagement so each of our consultants provides both the best interpersonal fit and skill set matched to the particular need. Key to our approach is that our experts "represent" their circle. We recognize that there will be tension within the system. By matching our team to each of the circles, we can better develop strategies to address problems at the points of overlap of the Family Business System. We spend a lot of time communicating as a consulting team, as well as interacting with different stakeholders in the Family Business System. Weekly client updates and monthly consulting project team meetings are NOT acceptable standards during a period of major transformation - more frequent communication is critical to success. As part of our initial involvement, we outline the entire transformation process and develop, within the Family Business System, a stakeholder communication plan.
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- There is no gain without pain
- Progress will consist of two steps forward, one step back (on a good day)
- Must be ready to brake but must keep the foot on the accelerator
- Both mindsets and behaviors must evolve
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Third, we integrate members of the Family Business System into the transformation by supporting them in specific roles. Invariably, these are new and unfamiliar roles as older family members take on less day-to-day responsibility, knowledgeable shareholders not active in the business take on family governance activity, and younger members are groomed for more decision-making and leadership demands. Often it is key non-family managers who can contribute critical insights into the System and they should become part of the team. We also seek to include existing trusted advisors in the process, as they are often deeply ingrained in business and family interactions. While this invariably means more work (and stress), we believe that the combination of experienced and objective outsiders, working through an integrated process, can really help family businesses survive and thrive.
The need for change means that traditional beliefs, structures, and processes are not adequately helping the Family Business System to achieve its goals. We do not operate by producing lengthy reports which often go unread, but rather by anticipating barriers to change, developing strategies to overcome those barriers, and facilitating implementation. While we are guiding our clients to find their own solutions, we are equally attentive to difficult decisions which may not lead to effective long term results. This is particularly true in the areas of succession planning, and business and financial strategy, where the cost of poor decisions is enormous. As catalysts, we recognize and are prepared to absorb the negative energy that often occurs when a mirror is held up to a Family Business System. A significant part of our role is to become the focal point of the painful part of change.
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