Eva Fischer

I’m proud of my children. They were nextgens in our family business, but when that came to an abrupt end, they took on a great challenge. My daughter, Silje, had prepared – on her own initiative – to one day run the company. But then our family sold it to another family business. Silje had to rethink her life trajectory and decided to change her field of study to something that, in hindsight, was closer to her heart and interests: Graphic design. My son, Nikolaj, was in upper secondary school and old enough to understand the change in our situation. He, too, had to take stock of a different future. It was a time of change for everyone in the family. Now, I see my children building their own lives decision by decision, step by step. And, although we still cooperate on projects as a family, the backdrop of a possible succession is gone. I’m proud of my children because they have tackled the switch from one set of uncertainties to another, and because they are taking responsibility for their lives, although they were thrown a curveball. After all that has happened, I can’t help but think: Whether you plan to sell your family business or own it into the future, encourage your children to become independent. Challenge them to learn who they are – and what path they want to take. You will want them to be prepared for life and set up for happiness – in- or outside the family business. Today, Nikolaj is studying to become a body therapist, and Silje recently graduated and is looking for a job in graphic design and marketing. She has written about her job search here on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/dvNxF7qG #familybusinesses #nextgen #dkbiz

What happens to a NextGen when she is ready to take over the business, but learns that it won’t stay in the family? This is a question that my daughter, Silje, has had to reflect on. Inspired by what her grandfather had built, she was studying business economics and management and expected that she might take the helm in our family business – until it was sold to another family. After the sale, something happened to Silje that had everything to do with her NextGen status: “I started having doubts about my line of study. Was it for me, or had I chosen my education because someone needed to take over this company? We hadn’t talked about succession yet, but I was the eldest, and the other children in the family were very young. I had to make sure that someone would take over.” Those reflections eventually made Silje drop out of her studies so she could start her search for a new path – now that the one she had felt bound to pursue was no longer an option. Today, Silje is a recent graduate of graphic design. She is doing well, learned a lot along the way, and yet her story serves as a reminder: Many of us want our children to become fully invested in the family business. However, we also need to prepare them for the reality that some businesses are sold, become financially unviable, or change radically before the next generation get their chance. Silje is navigating her path and recently wrote a LinkedIn post about her reasons for keeping a part time job while looking for a full time one: https://lnkd.in/dvNxF7qG #familybusinesses #succession #nextgen

Is a network for families that own businesses different from other types of network? I would say ... yes, and no. Here are some of the benefits that are specific to a network of family business owners, but could easily be adjusted to fit any network: ✅ You can pool your resources when hiring advisers and speakers that specialize in family business and owner family issues. ✅ You may find external talent within the network; talent that already understands family business dynamics through her or his own experiences within an owner family. ✅ You can build strategic partnerships between your companies or become owner family sparring partners. Also: ✅ You don't have to explain to each other that a family business can be a privilege AND a burden to its owners (everyone gets it). ✅ You probably face similar challenges when trying to manage the boundaries and dynamics between private and professional spheres. ✅ You are in a space where the next generation can discuss problems without getting the ‘spoiled kids’ stamp of disapproval; a stamp that arises from not understanding the pressures of being next in line. If you know of a network that is exclusive or just relevant to family business owners, feel free to share it in the comments section. #FamilyBusinesses #BusinessGrowth #NextGen

Help your family build confidence through positivity. It may sound sappy. But it’s important. Your attitude and approach to your family relations can make the difference between dysfunction and success – for your family and for your family's business. You don’t have to think that everything that comes from a family member is the greatest thing since the invention of drinking water. In fact, disagreements, when handled properly, will help you be better together. My point is that, regardless of any differences of opinion you may have, you need to treat each other with 👌 professionalism, 👌 accountability, 👌 fairness, 👌 respect and 👌 honesty. And you need to assess your successes and failures in this regard without assuming the worst about each other. This requires awareness. But once it’s there, you can change behaviours. And when you begin changing behaviours, you start seeing fundamental changes – in yourself and others. Get together as a family. Talk about the simple issue of treating each other right. Get a facilitator to help you overcome old patterns of destructive communication – and get a fresh start. Perhaps you will find that abandoned values, poor governance structures or a history and culture of conflict stand in the way of healthy relations and communication. That’s good. Because that’s an opportunity. An opportunity to deal with those issues and get to a better place. One where you treat each other with professionalism, accountability, fairness, respect and honesty – and in accordance with the core values that are particular to your family business. A place of greater positivity. What are your thoughts on this? #familybusinesses #familybusiness #positivity

Elizabeth remembers her granddad coming to the family business and talking to everyone there. I often share a similar story about my dad. The experiences made an impact in the moments they happened. And then, over time, they became significant stories about the past – and continue to make an impact. We carry the past with us, and storytelling allows us to pass it on, and keep it close and relevant in the here and now. Care to share a story from your family business? #familybusinesses #familybusiness #storytelling Elizabeth Bagger

“You did a great job!” Sometimes, that’s all you need to say. But in family businesses it may not happen. My family owned and ran one of Scandinavia's largest clean tech companies. To most outsiders, we probably looked like we had it together. And, in some important ways, we must have since we managed to turn the business around and sell it at a high point. But we weren’t always very aware of the vulnerabilities that come with being a family that runs a business together. And to the extent that we were, that didn’t always translate into good practices when it came to our mutual relations. Looking back, it showed in a number of ways. Importantly, we didn’t praise each other. I guess you could say we took each other for granted – and treated each other with the complacency that siblings, parents and children often do. When you’re family, you don’t automatically sit down and evaluate your relations, like: “How would we like our relationship to be a year from now? What needs to change for the better?” Maybe you should, but you don’t. Well, at least we didn’t. We just didn’t have that awareness of “hey, you deserve some praise for what you did there” or “you played a huge part in meeting our targets this month – let’s get you a dinner and tickets for a movie”. That’s my experience of those times. Today, knowing what I know now, I would have been more aware of the pitfalls. As a chairperson, I would have made sure that we discussed our relationships in terms of hopes, wants and expectations. That we talked about giving each other some credit for the wins. If this post resonates with you, do this: Think of something that your sibling, mother, father or cousin did right, and praise them for it. Don’t wait. Do it now. You won't regret it. #communication #praise #familybusinesses

Engang skulle jeg holde foredrag om vores familievirksomhed. Andre talere kom før mig, og det gjorde mig nervøs. For deres historier handlede om virksomheder, der virkede til at have styr på det hele. Men jeg kunne ikke ændre min tale. Det, jeg ville sige, var jo min sandhed om vores familievirksomhed – også selvom vi var langt fra perfekte. Da jeg havde sagt det, jeg havde planlagt, gik jeg tilbage til min plads og ventede på ’dommen’ fra tilhørerne. Min nervøsitet viste sig heldigvis at være ubegrundet: Bagefter fortalte andre mig om lignende problemer og var glade for, at jeg havde været ærlig. Min familie var tydeligvis ikke alene om at kæmpe med det at være ejerfamilie. Siden har jeg hørt mange ledere fra familievirksomheder tale åbent og nuanceret om deres familievirksomheder, i hvert fald i lukkede fora. Og det gør mig håbefuld. For jeg tror på, at vi kan lære af hinanden. Men det kræver, at vi lader andre spejle sig i vores situation og vores tanker om den. Det er selvfølgelig ikke for alle at stille sig op på et podium og ’dele det hele’, og vi kan med fordel mødes i et fortroligt rum, hvor alle tør sænke paraderne og give sig selv oplevelsen af at være i samme båd som de andre. Hvad er din holdning til at dele sin familievirksomheds udfordringer og erfaringer, eventuelt i et lukket forum for ejerfamilier? #familievirksomheder #ledelse #dkbiz

”Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.” Elizabeth Bagger and I share our advice for the next generation. Feel free to share your view. #nextgen #succession #familybusinesses

Succession should be a long and well-planned process, not a point in time brought about by illness or death. Consider these two scenarios: 🔎 Scenario 1) The nextgen visits the family business throughout her childhood. She gets a student job there, and she is given a mentor to help her figure out if she wants a future in the business – or perhaps somewhere else. She chooses to prepare herself to take over the company and plans her studies and work experience to that end. Her parents who own the business often talk to her about the company and its future but they’re careful not to pressure her. A number of years before her parents are due to retire, they begin including her more and more in decision making processes until she’s ready to take over with the support of key employees and a well-planned governance setup. 🔎 Scenario 2) The nextgen knows about the family business because it’s the main cause for her parents’ absence throughout her childhood. She knows that they produce ‘thingies for the auto industry’. That’s about it. It is implied that she must take over the company, but nobody has told her what that entails. Time passes. Then, one day, her longest living parent dies from heart failure. A lawyer asks her what she wants to do with the company. Of course, the first scenario does not exclude the possibility that the head of the company may suffer an untimely death before the transition is complete. But it minimises the risk of the next generation being unprepared if it were to happen. Clearly, scenario 1 gives the best odds for the continued success of the family business and the next generation – but what else can the current generation do to accommodate the succession? #familybusinesses #succession #nextgen

When we began searching for an external CEO for our family business, it was like opening Pandora’s box. I found that there were many competent people out there. But I also realised something about us as a family: We had to better understand the values of our company if we wanted to find a match outside our ranks. In this video, Elizabeth Bagger and I talk about finding the right candidate for the position of CEO outside the family. Do your experiences match ours? #familybusinesses #values #leadership