If the business is to survive, its interests cannot be unduly compromised to satisfy family wishes. To grow, family firms must recognize the need for professional management and the fact that family interests must sometimes be secondary. An ex-
ample is found in the experience of Ingvar Kamprad, founder of Ikea, a large family business in Sweden.
Kamprad started Ikea to sell good furniture at reasonable prices to middle-class families. The business has grown into the world's biggest furniture retailer, with stores in 29 countries, but it is still a family business. Although Kamprad's personal fortune is estimated at $3 billion, he retains a simple lifestyle, traveling tourist-class, carrying his own bags, and wearing open-necked denim shirts. One of Kamprad's three sons—Peter, 36; Jonas, 33; and Matthias, 31—would seem the logical choice to succeed him, as each has worked for Ikea. But Kamprad is not one to de-emphasize the abilities needed to lead a business of this type, a business that has grown immensely during its brief existence. "I admire my three sons. They're very clever," says Kamprad, adding candidly, "but I don't think any of them is capable of running the company, at least not yet."2
The underlying idea is that family members can contribute to the success of a family business but that membership in the family does not automatically endow them with abilities needed in key positions. The health and survival of a family business require proper attention to both business and family interests, as well as a proper balancing of those interests. Otherwise, in the long run at least, results will be unsatisfactory for both. Decisions on the advancement of individual family members should be mirk carefully, based on leadership ability and in consultation with the firm's board cif directors and/or other knowledgeable outside observers. Such decisions, furthermore, should be made in advance (and revised if necessary) rather than postponed until an emergency requires the hurried appointment of a new manager.
Advantages of a Family Business
Problems associated with family businesses can easily blind young people to the ad-
vantages that an be derived from participating in the business. The many benefits