An expensive silence: succession in a family R&D company

The founder of a sustainability-focused R&D firm was ready to retire, but the unspoken question of succession had brought his planning to a head. He was worried that his children would take over out of obligation, not passion, risking his legacy and their happiness.

With a new, high-demand product launching, he couldn't expand manufacturing or plan for the future without knowing what his children really wanted.

The problem: protective silence

The attempts to discuss succession had failed not because nobody cared, but because everybody cared too much. The founder worried his children felt obligated. The children worried about disappointing their father or pressuring their siblings.

This created a conversational vacuum right when the company needed clarity. The business needed a roadmap, but the family needed a space to talk openly and honestly.

What we did

At People Equals Purpose, we treat succession not as a legal transaction, but as a redesign rooted in human desires, values and identity. To understand those things, we created safe and honest conversation spaces, both individually and collectively.

1. Individual deep dives: We held separate, confidential conversations with each family member. We explored their personal and professional goals outside the context of the business: What did they want their life to feel like? What were their non-negotiables? This was crucial for helping the children feel safe enough to articulate what they wanted, as well as what they didn't want, allowing us to build the final plan from a place of genuine desire, not obligation.

2. Mapping the future: We collaboratively mapped the various arms of the business: their current position, their possible trajectories, the skills they needed, the risks and opportunities. We also worked with the founder to start visualising his post-retirement life in a bit more detail than "not working."

3. The conversation: With all this in place, we sat down collectively and the family shared what the business had meant to them, what their ambitions for the future were, what the business needed, and where they wanted to pitch in. From there, we were able to start filling some of the gaps, create plans to address the others, and create a vision for the business that supported its legacy as well as the ambitions of its new caretakers.

The outcome: support, clarity, and vision

The founder now has a five-year roadmap and two children committed to a values-aligned evolution of the business in line with their own goals. Crucially, the third child was able to be supported and celebrated for pursuing a different path.

Succession is never just about the money. It’s about identity, legacy, and having the courage to hold the conversations that truly matter. And maybe they won’t be all that difficult. As the founder put it, "I've actually quite enjoyed this."

What they said

"Thank you Kat for all your help and understanding with the succession project. Who would have guessed the outcome and the pathway of change."