Column: grow a family business — without sacrificing loyal employees

Change is the only constant in life and in business. In family businesses, however, change often comes slowly. Many family businesses (and family business employees) are resistant to change, and they have a point. “The way it’s always been done” has been working for these companies for decades, why change now? Because change is inevitable, whether companies like it or not.

Family businesses, more than corporations, often undergo significant changes quickly — and often with the transition of power from the founder to the next generation. The younger generation, having grown up in a different world than their parents, are often eager to enact sweeping changes the minute they take the reins.