Michael Simonyi | Navigating Family Business Succession | Confessions of a Recruiter #71

Discover what lies at the heart of succession planning woes as we unpack the story of a Brisbane-based manufacturing company with over a century of history. Our guest, an adept recruiter, shares the distressing tale of a business owner in his 80s, facing health challenges and a deep rift within his family, leaving him to lead alone. This episode peels back the layers of personal conflict and professional turmoil that come into play when succession plans are nonexistent, and the repercussions that follow when new executives are brought in only to leave within the year due to an uncompromising management style.

We tackle the sensitive dynamics of family business succession, including the emotional impact on family members like 'Jack', who may not be the chosen successors. Our conversation extends to the importance of knowing when to walk away from recruitment engagements set up for failure and the necessity for professional guidance during these trying times. Listen closely as our guest expertly navigates through the intricacies of succession, offering invaluable insight and advice for those involved in or working with family-run enterprises.

· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I recruited a role which not surprisingly didn't work out for a business that's in Brisbane, a local manufacturer that's over 100 years old. So the guy who's running it, who is now suffering health issues, is in the 80, maybe early 80s and he's managed to alienate everybody else. He's literally on his own, so his brothers don't talk to him. He's one or two, might have passed away at that age, but basically he was estranged from his siblings. His kids don't work in the business and really don't talk to him. And this guy is literally on his own running a business that employs probably 75 to 100 people and there is no potential around succession. He cannot let go and every time he brings somebody senior into the business they're gone within 12 months because he savages them Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 0:57

Oh, that's a shame.

Speaker 1: 0:59

That's really sad, but that's a real life experience.

Speaker 2: 1:03

I'd imagine, especially if you're recruiting for a succession plan and dad goes look, we need to find someone to take over me, my son Jack. He's probably not cut out for it. We haven't broken the news to Jack yet. Can you find someone to take my role? Jack's going to be heartbroken when he finds out. Make sure no one knows. It's got to be super confidential. Have you been in situations like that? That's the first thing that comes to my mind is if someone is doing some succession planning and it's a sensitive topic and they don't know how to have a conversation with their son or their grandson or whatever, or daughter, then do you come into it and go oh shit, jack's going to be pretty devastated when I find someone that's going to take his role.

Speaker 1: 1:51

So I wouldn't recruit at that stage. There's no chance I'd start a recruitment process that's doomed to failure. So that's one of your client rules In that, so it's not written down, but that's just got disaster written all over it for the family, for the person who takes up the role, and what chance have they got to be successful? They're going to come in to find that Jack is Jacky Boy's off him.

Speaker 2: 2:13

It'd be so dirty. Send those roles to Blake.

Speaker 1: 2:17

he'll do them so that you couldn't do, so you need to know when to say no, and that's an example where I'd be trying to encourage them to. You need to go and speak to people who can help you with this, and I can make some referrals to introductions as far as that's concerned.