Family-Owned Business Advisor

One of Joel’s primary professional areas is in the provision of executive leadership services to family-owned companies. The genesis of this specialization came from Joel’s background in psychology, and his experience with and recognition of the fact that at the heart of every family-owned company there is a biological family. Thus, executive coaching for family-owned corporations is a much more challenging investment, characterized by an understanding of the way in which family roles and dynamics interact with business roles and dynamics to produce a unique and highly complex mix of situational factors which are highly germane to profitability and growth. Issues such as bringing young adults into the family business, the layout of executive leadership roles for young adult family members in a business, the competency of young adult family members in a family-owned business as opposed to external executives, the sibling rivalries, the family member/non-family member executive competition, as well as the entire question of equity and succession are the métier of Joel’s work as a family-owned business advisor.

Below is a work sample of consulting services Joel provided to a family owned company.

Family-Owned Business Consulting Services, A Regional Environmental Services Company

• A full package of executive leadership services including six-week coaching for the FOB progenitor on the future of his corporation, his current location as opposed to other locations for the corporation, as well as the question of divestiture, sale of the corporation, re-imaging of his corporation with a different business focus, as well as individual leadership services with the progenitor on the development of other businesses he might want to develop in the future as collaborative enterprises, including a movie production company, exotic car store, and second and third real estate trusts for his future business interests;
• Providing executive leadership services for other family members including the wife of the progenitor and for adult offspring in their 20s and 30s, specifically regarding the future of the primary family corporation. Each family member was interviewed and given a specific questionnaire designed to help understand their perception of the long-term viability of the primary corporation, and their potential roles within that continuing entity. They were also polled as to their perceptions of other areas of corporate expansion and development which might emerge from the progenitor’s other interests. This data was collated and a family-owned business retreat was then held to discuss the results among the family members, develop a list of alternative corporate options for the progenitor, designed by his family which are now under consideration;
• Career integration for the youngest son of the progenitor, and his integration into the family owned company focusing on strategic development where he fits in best within the structure of the corporation and leveraging his specific resources and talents to the best interest of both his professional growth and the company’s profitability;
• Executive leadership services for the progenitor’s daughter and her need for the development of her professional portfolio, allowing her to manage the FOB’s vast real estate trust, yet build her own commercial real estate enterprise in tandem alongside that continuing primary work for the FOB founded by her father.