The Eldest Child Is in Charge, but the Father Has Different Hopes
A 73-year-old founder has five children. His eldest son currently serves as CEO, one of his daughters handles Finance, while his son-in-law is in charge of Operations.
However, the father has begun to doubt his eldest son’s ability to take the company to the next level. In fact, he considers his son-in-law to be more capable and hopes he will take over the business leadership.
The problem is, the eldest son feels that the position of CEO is his right as the oldest child. He also believes the company is currently in good enough shape and sees no reason to make major changes.
For the father, the company—which he has built over decades—still holds great potential. He wants to see the widely recognized brand continue to grow, while the son currently in charge prefers to maintain the status quo.
As a Commissioner, the father remains involved in overseeing the company. However, he struggles to encourage his eldest son to innovate. This difference in perspective makes it increasingly difficult for him to realize his vision of moving the company forward.
The father still sees so many opportunities to grow the business. However, the son entrusted with leadership feels that the current situation is sufficient.
The Father Sees New Opportunities, but the Son Feels It’s Enough
Amid these differing viewpoints, the company’s sales have begun to decline. About 80% of sales depend on a single major customer, with a partnership contract renewed annually.
For the father, this dependence is a cause for concern. What if one day that client decides not to renew the partnership? What will happen to a business that has long been so heavily reliant on it?
The father even tried to explore opportunities to diversify into other businesses. However, none of his children were willing to take on the responsibility of running the new venture.
On one hand, the father still had ambitions to grow the company. On the other hand, the eldest son, who was in charge, felt the business was running smoothly as it was, while the other children had not yet shown any interest in pursuing new opportunities.
In the end, the company continues to operate in the same way. The father still holds out hope of seeing his business grow even larger, but has yet to find anyone willing to make that happen.
What Can We Learn?
For a founder, seeing that a business built over decades still holds great potential certainly brings hope. However, the generation running it may not necessarily share the same ambitions and vision.
What if a parent still wants to see the business grow, while the child entrusted with leading it feels that everything is already sufficient?