Things were going well and Sean had visions of turning the business over to Dan “when the time was right”.
Unbeknownst to Sean, Dan viewed this his job as a stop-gap job. He continued to send out resumes, hoping for new opportunities. The inevitable happened. Dan was offered a job with a technology company at a considerably higher salary and benefit package beyond his imagination.
- 75% paid health and dental insurance
- Ability to bring pets to work
- Free fruit
- Free drinks
- Free lunch
- Transportation bonus / stipend
- Monthly company barbeque’s cooked by the management team
- Sponsorship of any team sport employees are involved with
Sean was stunned, but to his credit he didn’t berate Dan. Instead, he did a wise thing. He asked his son to answer these questions.
- How do you feel about the company?
- Are you excited about the product they produce?
- Will you work hard to help make the company successful?
- Will you enjoy what you’re being asked to do?
Sean understood Dan’s need to look around. He also correctly reasoned that working somewhere else would broaden his horizons and give him new appreciation and perspective to compare to his current situation. One of the highest correlations to succession success is the next generation spending time working outside the family business. Children should spend time becoming their own people, not being “Dad’s kids”.
Gary Vaynerchuk a best-selling author and innovative entrepreneur. In this short VIDEO, he says the secret to working successfully in a family business is caring about each other more than getting your own way.
