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"Legasus focuses on family business and they understand the dynamics which are present and how to deal with them.
You can get consultants on a financial or issue basis, but they don't quite understand how the family and business work together. Legasus does a total job of helping us maintain balance between family and business."
Gordon Mikesell
President and CEO
Mikesell Enterprises
"Over several generations, our family had perfected the art of avoiding difficult, family-business issues. Although it was clearly evident that we needed to resolve these critical matters in order to continue our business successfully, none of us had the heart to open the Pandora’s Box. Legasus Group has lead us expertly through this process. We have tackled succession issues among two generations and also, among siblings. We have resolved issues regarding ownership and financial compensation among a very diverse family-owners group. If we had confronted these issues ourselves, I am sure our family and business would have suffered unnecessarily. I have the utmost respect and trust for the Legasus team. They have proven themselves to be invaluable partners for our business and family."
Katrina Waldrop Henke
Milbank Manufacturing Company
"It's hard to bring an outsider into your organization. I had built up a phobia or callousness about consultants. As such, it took me over a year before we even got started. But, their approach is different. And fifteen years later, Legasus has actually become an integral part of our company.
They're not interested in just a short-term fix. They're interested in partnering with your company for long-term growth as opposed to being interested in what kind of fee they can get this month."
Pack St. Clair
President
Cobalt Boats
"The whole process that they initiated and put together was very enlightening for the owners and the family. Right from the family interviews to the sessions with their psychologist to the employee surveys -- those things have all gone together to move the family business beyond the fourth generation."
Mike Foster
President
Twin Valley Telephone
"The values of Legasus Group are similar to ours: high integrity, desire to support the community, support our families, and to have fun. There has to be a balance."
Anonymous
"We created the plan – they kept us focused – it was above and beyond what I’ve experienced with other consultants and facilitators."
Anonymous
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Generations
Three generations of family worked together under the same roof. Over the years, problems developed as normal challenges emerged through the competing interests of business and family. Due to the many hours the parents and grandparents worked, some of the third generation felt they hardly knew them though they worked beside them every day. Members of the third generation felt resentment because they experienced little family-time, time together was always about the business. They wondered if they wanted to remain in the business, fearing that their own children might feel the same way about them one day.
The parents were referred to Legasus Group for help in communicating their vision and values and creating a healthy balance between family, business, and ownership. Legasus began by talking with the grandparents and captured their story of how they originally came to start the business. They talked about the values, the ones they hoped to leave as a legacy for their family, and about their love for the family. They talked about their hopes and dreams for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Legasus walked alongside the family as they gained a new source of understanding and love for one another. They helped define the structures and boundaries for creating quality family time. Legasus also gave them the courage to embrace the conflict necessary to allow the family and the business to become stronger. Sharing their stories with each other created a more tolerant and loving environment. Though it didn't solve all of the issues in the business and the family, it allowed each person to talk about their hopes, dreams, and career aspirations. They came together to create balance and a shared vision that defined the legacy they wanted to leave for future generations.
Four of a Kind
Four boys grew up as friends in a small town. They did everything together. They played with each other as children and went to high school and college together. Finally they decided to start a business.
They soon found out that running a business together isn't child's play. They began experiencing major disagreements, and arguments erupted over the direction and operations of the company. It was tearing their friendship apart. They had heard about Legasus Group and decided to call.
The Legasus team spent time listening to them, coaching them individually and collectively on communications and conflict resolution skills. With the Legasus team's guidance, roles and responsibilities were defined, business operations were reviewed, and each person was able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and those of their partners. They identified the strengths that brought them together as friends, but eventually came to recognize that these were not the same strengths needed for creating a successful partnership and a thriving business. They all agreed to close the business.
Today the friends work in different companies and still get together periodically for a weekend of golf and camaraderie. They continue to share stories about growing up together and about how being close friends in their youth didn't translate into a successful business venture. They agree that being good friends and good partners is not always the same.
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Dad’s pride and Joy
Having faced many hardships, while living on a farm during the Great Depression, a man made a promise to himself that his family would never go hungry again. He moved to the city where he began a business, working very hard to earn a living. Years passed and though there were many ups and downs, the business grew to be very successful.
His three sons grew up, went to college, and had sons of their own. They worked in large corporations, rising through the ranks to become Vice Presidents and leaders in the companies. The man was very proud of his sons and their accomplishments; however, his dream was for them to take over the business that he had built. Unsure of how to approach his sons, the man talked with his attorney who referred him to Legasus Group.
Legasus Group worked with the entire family and the key leaders and managers of the business. With the help of Legasus Group, the family members and the key non family leaders were able to share their hopes and dreams for the family business.
One of the three sons chose to move home with his family and to begin learning about the business from his father and the key managers within the company. Eventually the son bought out his father's shares and successfully carried the business forward with the help of the non family managers. He was able to provide a comfortable retirement for his parents, a future for his own sons, and secure jobs for the employees.
Sister Act
Four daughters inherited a business from their parents; however, none of them wanted to run it. Unsure of how to proceed, they called Legasus Group for guidance. The Legasus team began working with them to identify non-family members who would be good managers of their family business. With the assistance of the Legasus team, they found a solution, and the business grew and produced many assets.
In order to preserve the family values and protect the assets, the daughters again turned to Legasus to establish an effective governance system. A board of directors was put into place who championed the vision, values, and goals of the four sisters. The board then directed the managers of the business to develop plans necessary to accomplish the desired goals of the owners.
With the increase in wealth and the guidance of the Legasus team, the sisters began talking about the legacy that their parents had passed on to them. They decided to further that legacy through greater involvement in the community.
The sisters started a foundation serving children in need of after school tutoring. The foundation not only funds the facilities and the tutors, the sisters themselves spend three days a week working with the children at the facility. They are finding new meaning through their contributions to their community and, most importantly, through their relationships with the children. They now realize that their real purpose is not to be just good owners but also to be good stewards of the assets entrusted to them.
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