When family doesn't leave business aside

In the context of a family business, "a mother who can be removed by a majority vote of the family members is like a turtle with wings, a triangle with four sides, or a cheese made of wool". The phrase, written a decade ago by Miguel Tamen in an opinion piece , raises the question: But can a family survive a family business? And vice versa: can a company survive the family that created it and that manages it?

Especially at times when there is a generational transition, following in the footsteps of those who preceded us, when they left their mark on our path, is no easy task. Whether it is a family business or finding a family business with the most affinities in soft skills , the truth is that an inheritance is not always a stroke of luck. And while it often guarantees good ground for new grapes, there are those who have to break with the past to find it again at another stage of maturity or to be able to bring innovation to the family DNA.

In a country where family businesses account for 70% to 80% of the business community and, according to estimates from the Family Business Association, help create half of all jobs and two-thirds of the country’s GDP, it would be nice to believe that a family business is a guarantee of business longevity. However, the figures are not encouraging. Although family commitment brings more stability and commitment, and also translates largely into greater respect for employees and the ability to instill in them the spirit of mission associated with the business, the continuity of family businesses all too often crumbles when leadership changes hands. A recent study by PwC reveals that only about a third of them survive the transition from the first to the second generation, and when grandchildren come along, that rate drops back to half (about 12%), with very few (3%) surviving to the fourth generation.

"No company survives on ant time alone." Check out the contributions of Isabel Capeloa Gil and José Teixeira in the Beyond Profit Talks here .

But there are exceptions that confirm not only the chances of success but also the virtues of a family business continuing to grow, as new generations are involved and add to it. In Portugal, the José de Mello group (which has borne the name of its founder since 1988) is one such excellent example. Having been created to recover the old CUF Group, created by his grandfather (the great industrialist Alfredo da Silva) and dismantled on the 25th of April, José Manuel de Mello rebuilt the family group on two main pillars: Bondalti, which continued the industrial activity, and CUF, born from the socially responsible vision of the original founder, who believed it was his duty to look after the health (and education, housing, etc.) of those who worked for him.

What distinguishes the actions of these large family groups that manage not only to survive the passage of time but also to solidify, consolidate and add value, generation after generation? How do you maintain your DNA and incorporate innovation without distorting a rich genetic code and its basic principles? Where can you find the balance between the positive influence of the past and the need to stay ahead of your time?

"Portugal must create a culture that rewards risk and punishes inertia." See here the vision of Paula Amorim and Miguel Poiares Maduro, in the Beyond Profit Talks.

To find out the answers to these and other questions, maestro Martim Sousa Tavares leads another conversation as part of the Beyond Profit Talks, by the Santander Portugal Foundation, of which SAPO is a partner , in which Vasco de Mello, who in addition to dedicating his life to the family business helped to transform it and consolidate it as an essential group in the national reality, and Miguel Tamen, who pursued a career as an essayist, professor and director of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Lisbon, after finding a confident voice outside the poetic vein of his father, Pedro Tamen, share their views.

"The weight of heritage: between tradition and reinvention" is the theme of the next talk, which is scheduled for next Friday, June 20th, at 1 pm, at the Santander Auditorium, in Lisbon. To watch live, simply register here .

Watch or rewatch the views of the incredible duos who have graced this stage, in this series of unlikely conversations that have already discussed topics such as love as a management criterion or what ultimately defines success .