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Identify the roles people hold
Map who is a family member, owner, director or employee, including people who hold several roles. Ask what information and participation each role needs. A person outside daily operations may still have a legitimate ownership question, while a family relationship does not by itself confer management authority.
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Design forums around decisions
Use family discussions for shared expectations and communication, ownership discussions for shareholder matters, governance for oversight and management for delivery. The exact arrangements should fit the business and its formal obligations. Clarify what each forum can decide, what it can recommend and where an issue must go next.
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Document the working arrangements
Agree meeting purposes, information flows and how concerns are raised. Consider how conflicts of interest and disagreements will be handled with professional advice. A family charter or meeting note should not be assumed to replace legal agreements. Review the arrangements as participation, ownership or the business changes.
Use this in your business
A recurring forum map
- Family: expectations, participation and communication needs.
- Owners: information, ownership objectives and shareholder questions.
- Board: direction, oversight, risk and accountability.
- Management: delivery, resources and operating decisions.
- Between forums: referrals, records and unresolved issues.
Illustrative example
What this could look like
A family dinner becomes a discussion about an employee's performance. Moving that issue into the appropriate management process protects a clear decision route. The family may still need a separate conversation about expectations for family employment, without deciding an individual work matter informally.
Your next move
Bring the decision into focus.
Pivot Point's succession and governance services address structure, alignment and accountability. Bring the recurring conversations that are becoming difficult to separate.
Start a conversation Meet the advisory teamThis guide is general preparation information. Advice on legal, tax and financial consequences needs to reflect your circumstances.
Further reading: Institute of Directors