THE DAYS OF DYNASTY

I remember when I was a kid and bedtime was a before 9pm affair; I would lie in the darkness, listening to the theme songs of programmes like ‘Dallas’ and ‘Dynasty’ (and weren’t they iconic tunes too, but music as part of a brand’s identity is a topic for another day) as the music rose from the living room below. The next day, I’d often hear my mum, Nana, and aunties chat about the episode they’d just watched, debating the whos, hows, whats and whys of the characters’ lives as if they were people we knew from down the road.

As I got a little older, I tried to push back bedtime by sitting like a little mouse on the floor by the end of the sofa, not?making a squeak. I was hoping my mum would forget I was there, enabling me to watch on as the on-screen families built business empires and fought wars fueled by bitter progenitor rivalries – both in the board room and, with a degree of regularity, in the large fountains in their driveways. The added sparkle was that they always looked exceptionally glamorous in the process.

Since watching these programmes in the 80s, I’ve noticed families mixed with business have been a basis for the storyline for multiple TV shows, with a recent example being ‘Succession’, with Brian Cox playing the sociopathic patriarch (I’m still to watch the last season, so no spoilers, please). There’s something about the dynamic of a family business that’s enduring and sensational to watch – money, love, power…it’s a heady mix.

But that’s in the world of make-believe; what about families in business in the real world? How does that storyline play out?

Family businesses are the oldest form of enterprise known to humankind, with the familiar cycle of the knowledge of a parent’s ‘craft’ passing down to their children. Family businesses have been around long enough for us to know how the story goes – or do we?

In countries around the world, family businesses account for approximately 70% of GDP and 60% of employment globally (McKinsey 2024), making them the engine room of many economies, including Scotland. In our home nation, there are more than 280,000 family businesses – that’s 84% of all businesses in Scotland (Family Business UK, 2024). In fact, the oldest business in Scotland is a family business – ? ?John White & Son Limited, established in 1715.

People are often surprised to learn these statistics because, let’s face it, unless you’re a Walmart, Dell, Nike or Chanel (it’s a family business, just not the family you may expect), family businesses don’t seem?cool,?cutting edge or as if they are commercial powerhouses, not like ColbyCo, anyway.

But the figures?tell?us that family businesses are hugely important to our economy and ensuring their survival through the passing from one generation to another matters, albeit indirectly, to us all; that’s where my interest and the challenge arise.

The McGowan family runs two separate businesses: McGowan Marketing, with me and our daughter Lara, and Harry’s Jewellers, with Mr M and our son, Brodie. The businesses are very distinct, as is the intention of succession, at this stage, of both younger generation members. One child has no intention of taking on the business when the older generation retires. The other fully intends to take on the business when the older generation retires. A 50% drop-off rate if the intention of one member of the younger generation remains the same and they decide to leave the business. No succession will mean the doors closing of a successful company.

Succession is not an exclusively family business requirement, and it plays a considerable role in the long-term strategy of all businesses. For non-family firms, it is a different prospect, perhaps less emotional.?For family business owners,?there are?very different considerations?that?come into play.?The result is that less than 30% of businesses?going?from generation one to two, approximately 13% succession success from generation two to three and a tiny 3% or thereabouts from generation three to four.

Family businesses are the powerhouse of our economies. No business operates in a vacuum, and they could benefit from support to navigate the succession process. Still, it’s not something I hear or see as a mainstream offering. There’s start-up support; there’s support for scale-up, but then, little to nothing is there to support the process of succession. Succession is the?obvious?third ‘S’ in the support cycle, taking a business’s life cycle from a curve with a decline to demise and returning to growth with a new generation.

Both Mr M and I are building our businesses, and neither?one?of us is a spring chicken anymore, so decisions around ‘what’, or rather ‘who’ next,?aren’t far away.?We would?rather?not quote the Scottish proverb?“Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” The better story is one of a ‘dynasty’.

By the way, who shot JR? I didn’t manage to stay up late enough to see that episode!