Succession planning - spouse & in-law

Listen to Philippe de Gaspe Beaubien II, Nan-B de Gaspe Beaubien and Stephen Woodman discuss the inclusion of in-laws in the family as well as in business and the challenges that comes with it. When integrating in-laws it is important to be aware that they may have a different set of unwritten rules and values. A family business can benefit from leveraging the new ideas that in-laws have to offer.

Philippe de Gaspe Beaubien II Not to mention the in-laws. The spouses. Who to include, who is family? A lot of people have never faced that. So family businesses face a lot of challenges. Doug Woodman (should say Stephen) My wife is involved in the business and it was funny that my dad kind of took her under our wing and would listen to her and different things that he’d talked to her about and throw ideas off him, she’d bounce it, in whatever, and he listened and so some of the things in terms of expanding the business and bringing new ideas into the business were things that my wife had suggested to my dad, and he did that with all the in-laws. Nan-B de Gaspe Beaubien Whether we realize it or not, every family has unwritten rules. And we don’t ever put them out on the table and talk about them, but they are there. And so when a new-comer comes in, they come in with their unwritten rules. They also come in with their values, the way that they look at the world, and it might be very different from your family. So how are you going to adjust to that? How are you going to going to make that person feel part of your family?