CPE COURSE OUTLINE
1. Course Title: FamilyMatters®. Preserving the Family-Owned Business
2. Course Overview:
a. This course deals with understanding the emotional and financial issues facing
families that operate successful businesses and how to best help them create a
succession and exit strategy utilizing insurance as one of the components.
b. The educational format is an “interactive movie”. A topic is introduced by a main
video. Then “what if” scenarios are selected, illustrating the best, worst and
typical solutions family businesses apply to the main topic. The outcome is
viewed and then discussed, creating a platform to examine what combination of
family dynamics, information, insurance, and financial planning/consulting results
in the desired outcome.
3. Course Introduction – 20 minutes
a. TODAY’S OBJECTIVES & AGENDA
i. Family business and it’s impact on the US economy
1. As a percentage of GNP
2. As the engine for new jobs
ii. The Main Reasons for Failure
1. Percentage of second and third generation businesses surviving
2. Lack of planning/lack of insurance
3. Family emotional conflicts
iii. Interactive “Quick Compass” assessment tool
1. Points Assigned for “No” or “I don’t know” answers
2. Point totals and what they mean to the business owner
4. Course Overview – 30 minutes
a. 21st Century Learning - Influencers
i. The Internet
ii. Television
iii. Data overload
iv. Information distillation
v. Quid pro quo
b. The Interactive Movie Format
i. Introduction to the “cast”
c. Introduction of the Five Topics
i. Estate Planning
ii. Leadership Development
iii. Compensation & Performance
iv. Choosing Advisors
v. Strategic Planning
5. Estate Planning – 40 minutes
a. Introductory video
i. Aligning new and old generation priorities
ii. The uncomfortable mortality topic
iii. The need for life insurance
b. Talk To Advisors (typical)
i. Development of the formal succession plan
ii. Who should be involved, and why
iii. Universal, term or variable?
c. Think About It (worst)
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i. Resolution by avoidance
ii. Estate tax “train wreck”
iii. Succession planning in hindsight
iv. Life insurance; technology not commodity
d. Listen To Son (best)
i. Importance of the team approach
ii. The up-to-date will
iii. Funding the estate plan with life insurance
e. Quick Compass – Estate Planning
6. BREAK – 20 minutes
7. Choosing Advisors – 40 minutes
a. Introductory video
i. The importance of aligned advisors
ii. Turning adversity into opportunity
iii. Disability insurance as golden handcuff
b. Call Our Friends (worst)
i. Maintaining confidentiality
ii. Leveling the business/friendship playing field
iii. How to assist in positioning the best policy to fit the need
c. Interview New People (best)
i. Finding the family-business advisor
ii. The power of the team: CPA, Attorney, banker, insurance professional
iii. Developing the objective assessment
iv. Disability insurance assignment
d. Maintain Current Relationship (typical)
i. Exposing the least resistant/most comfortable
ii. The power of change
iii. Deductible options/maximum coverage
e. Quick Compass – Choosing Advisors
8. Strategic Planning - 40 minutes
a. Introductory video
i. Insurance as part of the strategic plan
ii. Future projections: 1, 3, 5 years
iii. Family and key employee participation
b. Meet At Work (worst)
i. Mission statement development
ii. Selecting a board of directors
iii. Inclusion of Long Term Care
c. Try A Retreat (typical)
i. Measuring performance objectives against the plan
ii. Emergency replacement of key employees
iii. LTC as part of corporate benefit plan
d. Meet At A Hotel (best)
i. Annual update/policy reassessment
ii. Driving the process forward; your role
e. Quick Compass – Strategic Planning
9. Leadership Development – 40 minutes
a. Introductory video
i. Defining linkages to succession and exit
ii. Establishing the review process
iii. Insurance for multiple generations
b. New Owners (worst)
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i. Retirement and leadership development
ii. The “child conundrum”
iii. Selling the business
iv. Insurance within the business sale
c. Seminar Information (best)
i. Family members and successor identification
ii. Multiple generation insurance planning
iii. Creating buy-in from family and non-family employees
d. Mentoring (typical)
i. Internal and external mentoring; the pros and cons
ii. Defining and measuring mentoring objectives
e. Quick Compass – Leadership Development
10. Compensation & Performance – 40 minutes
a. Introductory video
i. The inescapable exit plan
ii. Family harmony and compensation measured against succession
iii. Family trusts and foundations
b. Performance Reviews (typical)
i. Deferred compensation
ii. Establishing internal barometers for measurement
c. Independent Consultant (best)
i. The process
ii. The written word
iii. Comparative compensation against industry standards
iv. Inclusion of variable life insurance for downstream generations and why
d. Dad Decides (worst)
i. The mathematics of sibling division
ii. Dad’s role in the family foundation
iii. Non-working family members and compensation issues
e. Quick Compass – Compensation & Performance
11. Quick Compass Scoring – 15minutes
a. What the scores mean
b. Breakdown
i. 0 – 33 Low Risk
ii. 34 – 68 Moderate Risk
iii. 69 – 99 Dangerous Risk
iv. 100+ - Severe Risk
12. Closing Remarks – 15 minutes
a. Recap
i. Exit and succession planning and insurance
ii. Impact on retirement and lifestyle
iii. Your responsibility in the process as an insurance professional
iv. The team approach
Bibliography
Program was prepared in association with independent industry consultants and faculty
from The Wharton School and Kennesaw State University.
Thomas L. Ledbetter, JD., LLM
The Creative Financial Group
Janet L. Greco, Ph.D.
© Lighthouse Strategic Projects Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Transition One Associates
John Eldred, ABD
Co-Founder, Wharton Family Business Program
Craig S. Springer, CPA
Croft, Drozd & Company, P.C.
Fredda Herz Brown, Ph.D.
Founder & Managing Partner,The Metropolitan Group
Joseph Astrachan, Ph.D.
Kennesaw State University Family Business Program
Course Materials
Every presenter will already have a complete FamilyMatters® system, which includes
copies of the mentioned, CD-Rom Program and Quick Compass.
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