Field Notes

Documenting roles before you promote a family member

Promoting a son, daughter, or cousin into a senior role without a written role profile is one of the most common triggers for our Team & Role Mapping work. Everyone agrees the person is capable. Nobody agrees what they are now responsible for — including the person being promoted.

The gap between title and work

“Operations Manager” at a family firm might mean running the warehouse, handling HR complaints, approving leave, negotiating with the landlord, and attending industry association dinners. The title sounds clear. The week-to-week reality is a bundle of tasks that lived in the founder’s head.

The Friday cash meeting that family owners actually keep

Most family business owners know their revenue figure. Fewer can say, without opening three screens, how much cash will be available in two weeks after payroll, supplier payments, and the large customer who always pays on day 45.

Cash Flow Clarity engagements often end with a recommended Friday morning meeting — 25 minutes, same three people, same agenda. Not because Friday is magical, but because it sits before the weekend when owners mentally close the week.

Why purchase approvals balloon in second-generation firms

When the founder handled purchasing personally, approval was simple: they saw the invoice and signed. As the business grew, well-meaning controls were added — a warehouse manager check here, a finance review there — but rarely removed when no longer needed.

By the time a second-generation leader steps into a procurement role, three or four people may touch every order above a threshold nobody remembers setting. Staff learn to route around the slowest approver. Urgent purchases happen on personal cards. The formal process exists on paper but not in practice.