But like growth, a change in the company's strategic direction can require substantial change in how the company is organized and how it operates. Family members who've contributed for years may be left out of touch with a dramatically new corporate strategy. They can continue to be valuable to the company, but they may have to accept changes in roles. These factors need to be on the table when a strategy shift is being planned. Expectations of senior owners and other family members can be in for a big surprise if business planning hasn't accounted for the possibility of the marriage or divorce of those in key positions in the company.
Divorces are almost always stressful for all concerned.
They can be doubly upsetting if they raise questions of the departing spouse's business ownership rights or the future inheritance of the children of the broken marriage. You can build sensible resolution of such problems into the family business's policies and operating procedures. Like prenuptial agreements, however, business policies designed to cushion the shock of divorce are still looked at with a jaundiced eye. Most families, it seems, would rather take their chances in a divorce court. Transferring the authority and responsibility of ownership and management to the next generation is a profound transition for most family businesses.