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A Family Business
A Family Owned Buisness
Rob Ferguson
A Silver Fox Advisor
It’s built on purpose, structure, and alignment between the family and the business.
Yet we hear this from owners all the time:
“I know something isn’t quite right—I just can’t put my finger on it.”
That’s exactly why we created the Family Business Prosperity Score™.
It’s a free, practical self-assessment designed to help you step back and see your business more clearly - without theory, judgment, or a sales pitch.
In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity on how your business is performing across the six fundamentals that drive long-term prosperity:
You’ll receive a personalized summary showing:
- Where your foundation is strong
- Where alignment or structure may be quietly holding you back
- Practical next steps you can take right away
It's designed to show you where to focus so you can grow value, protect your legacy, and lead with confidence.
If you’ve been meaning to work on the business, but haven’t known where to start, this is a good first step.
You can take the Family Business Prosperity Score™ here: Take the Assessment
Ferguson Alliance
After you complete the assessment, you can schedule a complimentary and confidential assessment review call with one of Ferguson Alliance’s experienced advisors. The advisor will walk through your results, answer questions, and help you identify the most important areas to focus on next. Book a Call or connect with us on Linkedin
Leadership Training - Next Steps for January Situation
THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING/MENTORING CORNER
In the August 2025 Newsletter, we started a series called “The Leadership/Mentoring Corner” in which we posed a thought-provoking situation for you to think about and put yourself into asking yourself, “What are your next steps?” Below is the situation that was in the January 2026 Newsletter.
JANUARY LEADERSHIP SITUATION
Business Scenario: The Morale Challenge at BrightPath Consulting (this is a real case and the names have all been changed).
Background:
BrightPath Consulting is a mid-sized management consulting firm with about 120 employees. For over 15 years, it was owned and operated by its founder, Sarah Mitchell, who fostered a collaborative culture where employees felt valued and heard. Under Sarah's leadership, Brightpath developed a reputation for excellent client relationships and low employee turnover.
The Change:
Six months ago, the company was acquired by Vanguard Business Group, a larger corporate entity expanding its consulting portfolio. The new owner, Jonathan Price, a data-driven executive with a background in corporate turnarounds, stepped in as CEO.
The Problem:
Since the acquisition, employee morale has visibly declined. Several senior consultants have left, citing "cultural misalignment" and "lack of transparency." Remaining employees are expressing frustration due to new policies and shifts in management style:
- The company now focuses heavily on billable hours and automation tools rather than relationship-based consulting
- Jonathan has centralized decision-making, reducing team autonomy.
- Long-standing company traditions, such as quarterly retreats and peer recognition programs, were canceled in the name of "efficiency."
- Communication from the new management team has been formal and infrequent, leading to rumors and uncertainty about the company's direction.
Current Situation:
Performance is slipping - client satisfaction scores are down, project deadlines are being missed, and engagement survey results show morale is at an all-time low. Jonathan notices the decline but attributes it to "resistance to change." Mi-level managers, however, warn that the company is at risk of losing more key talent if trust and motivation aren't rebuilt soon.
Your Task:
Develop possible strategies for Jonathan to:
- Understand the root causes of low morale.
- Rebuild employee trust and engagement.
- Align the new business direction with the company's valued culture.
We polled some of the Silver Fox Advisors, and below are some recommendations on what your next steps should be:
- Jonathan Price should interview each employee and ask for input, and then do an assessment and evaluate the feedback, followed up by developing a plan. This plan should then be shared with the employees so everyone is on the same page as far as the direction going forward.
- Jonathan seems to have a misalignment of what the Company’s previous mission and culture was. He appears to be more bottom-line oriented, which is O.K. as he is now the owner of the Company, but he needs to share his vision with the employees and get their buy-in. One way he might do that is to offer a profit-sharing incentive with the employees, whereby if the Company’s profitability meets his expectations, then the employees would share in that success.
- Jonathan should share with the employees what his value proposition is for the Company, so the employees know what the Company’s direction is and how he plans to position it.
- There seems to be a lack of communication issue throughout the Company. That can be a huge internal distraction. Everyone in the Company needs to be on the same page. Without everyone knowing what the Company’s mission, vision, and direction is and what the individual’s roles are, complete chaos will occur.
- Jonathan should share his business plan vision, financial goals and objective on modeling materials that he can share in detail with the employees, so everyone has a complete understanding of what the plan is. Again, including some type of profit sharing incentive plan will also go a long way to get everyone's buy in.
- And, finally, if the previous owner would be part of any communication process with the employees, that could be helpful, Jonathan would need to be sure that the previous owner is on the same page as he is for the direction of the Company, or this could prove to be disastrous.
