Although taking risks can help to launch a successful family business, managing risk is the key to preserving it, according to the advisor of one of Canada’s most accomplished family enterprises.
Geoff Beattie, President and CEO of Woodbridge Company Limited, a private holding company for the Thomson family, which owns news and information services including the Globe and Mail, discussed preserving family businesses and the role of the trusted advisor as the keynote speaker at the 8th Annual National Family Business Day Celebration at The Hilton in London on February 9. The event was hosted by the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise Southwestern Ontario and Ivey’s Business Families Centre.
“Family businesses often feel they have to be buccaneering and innovative because that’s how grandpa did it, but you can’t afford to act entrepreneurial once you have a large enterprise. You’re not in the business of making money, you’re in the business of managing money and that’s a different game,” said Beattie, who is also the Campaign Chair for Western University. “You need to learn to manage and be adaptable.”
Beattie stressed the importance of having a “builder” mentality and a partnership structure for family businesses to prosper.
“Roy Thomson believed in building for the future. He didn’t take a short-term view. At the heart of what he was doing was creating something that would look after his family for years to come. He always asked the people in the organization where they thought the company would be in the next 10 years,” he said. “He also put in place a partnership structure. The only way to move forward is with a partnership structure where everyone has a voice at the table. We’d set ourselves up on two teams – the pros and the cons. It forces you to see both points of view. You can’t have a command and control environment.”
The event also included a family business panel session with Julian and Heidi Bayley of IceCuture Inc. and Randy Collins and Becky Gilmore of Collins Family of Companies.
The Collins Family of Companies that owns Ultimate Automobile and Hully Gully was named winner of the Family Enterprise of the Year award.
David Simpson, Executive Director of Ivey’s Business Families Centre, said the event was created to celebrate family businesses and their accomplishments.
“Family businesses often outperform other businesses,” he said.
Above: Geoff Beattie and David Simpson at the 8th Annual National Family Business Day Celebration
