Family Business Owners Must Be Ready to Stop Meddling

Owners of successful family firms often try to bring in outside professionals to fill senior positions, but often set themselves up for failure due to one simple mistake. Recruiting outsiders as senior managers is a common path for family businesses that reach a certain size and find further growth constrained by their own abilities. Sourcing good candidates among existing employees is usually not possible, so it seems logical to seek talent from outside. Unfortunately, this arrangement frequently does not end well because of a simple, crucial mistake: While they may invest considerable time and money in finding, hiring and training the right outside professional, all too often owners of family businesses assume that an outsider can do the job without the owner changing their own behavior.