FAMILY BUSINESS MATTERS: “Transforming Your Family Business into a Corporate Operating Brand”

By REG ATHWAL, FPSA

World-Renowned Family Business Executive Advisor, Author & Keynote Speaker; Founding Partner & MD, RTS Global Partners 

Are you ready to transform your family owned business into a corporate professionally run organization?

Having invested over a decade in advising family owned businesses (FOB’s) across Africa and Middle East, most of them who are Tier 2 FOB’s with $30m to $300m in yearly revenues, want to become Tier 1 organizations and some aspire to complete an IPO and become a PLC one day. However, they struggle. The owners have to make the shift from being ‘IN’ the business to a role of being “ON” the business or better still become IN-VESTors who sit on the Board of Directors (BOD) only. But letting go is the most difficult part of this transitional process. Some handover to the next generation who end up with a essentially a job with massive pressure to continue with the legacy and what the seniors have built over 10-20-30 years. This leads to generational gaps and internal “active non-communicational” conflicts. The next generation want authority and to be able to make decisions, but always feel they have to keep going to the Senior BOD members to move forward. Letting go must happen to transform the FOB.

At RTS Global Partners we support FOB’s in making those tough decisions. We use our S.T.A.T.E. Methodology and a 50 step process to give the FOB an opportunity in becoming a Corporate without losing their dynamic entrepreneurial spirit, which is what built the business in the first place.

To shift from owning a $10m or $30m or $300m company, to becoming a $1b+ group or conglomerate or international brand, there are fundamental matters to be discussed and implemented, which can take 3 years on average, so one must start early or leave it to random chance or fail as family business matters have sabotaged the future.

In our S.T.A.T.E. Methodology Scorecard we Audit 50 Key Business Areas and identify those that are low hanging fruit opportunities to drive transformation immediately, in conjunction with long-term key strategic and operational areas that need time to be implemented and embedded into the culture over-time.

In summary the S.T.A.T.E Methodology Scorecard has the following key steps:

1. Gaining clarity on the Strategy and Structure required to built out a 10 year Vision for the Company with Intentional Objectives for the next 3-6-9-12-15-18-24 Months

2. Building that Structure by Identifying the Right Talent and Teams required to Grow the Business and Having Dream Teams built in 9 Core Areas, which we call the DNA Model

3. Implementing Alignment and Accountability Communication Mechanisms to ensure the FOB gets a true pulse of what is really going on IN their business, without having the need to Micro-Manage

4. Transforming the Thinking of everyone in the entire Company and Creating a New Culture Focused on the Vision and Making it Come Alive and not just on a Piece of Paper

5. Driving Ongoing ROI Execution that ensures the Company becomes more Efficient and Unleashes Innovation & Excellence Strategies to Out-Play the Competition and Grab Market Share

This is just the start, but a FOB has to address these areas to make the transformation happen and shift from being a FOB (Family Owned Business) to a FOB+COB (Corporate Operating Brand).

To find out more about the 50 steps in our S.T.A.T.E Methodology Scorecard and to have a complimentary FOB Audit completed, contact RTS Global Partners: info@rtsgp.com.

About RTS Global Partners

We offer leading-edge scientific and practical advisory, consulting, education and venture solutions to family owned businesses and conglomerates, as well as large corporates with an entrepreneurial DNA. We also provide superior management consulting services for businesses who want to transform their human-capital and grow into new markets across Africa and Middle East.

As a rapidly-growing advisory and consulting firm, we have members supporting 85 key clients in 7 countries and adding value to millions of employees with our collective knowledge capital, DNA systems and DNA processes. Our company is the creator of the ‘Unleash Your DNA’ brand and ‘The DNA Model’. 80 percent of our senior leadership team are client-facing professionals from different nationalities. We have plans to expand our Partner Network to 22 countries by 2022 across Africa and Middle East and service 22,000 clients, which is all part of our Vision 2022.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you transform your business.

www.rtsgp.com