Beware of quick fixes

“𝙄𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙣𝙖𝙞𝙡”

I was reminded recently of this old saying.

You see it quite often in family business situations. Advisers naturally interpret what’s in front of them through their own lens. Lawyers tend to focus on legal risk, accountants on tax and structure, coaches on behaviour, and therapists on relationships. None of that is wrong. It’s just how experience shapes what you see.

And family owners naturally gravitate to advice from advisers they know and trust. The difficulty comes when solutions start getting introduced before anyone has really worked out what the issue actually is. What looks like a culture problem, a leadership issue, or even a breakdown in relationships will often turn out to be something else once you spend a bit of time with it.

In my experience it often comes back to more basic questions that haven’t been properly worked through. Who actually has the final say on key decisions. What decisions sit with management and what sit with the owners. How disagreements are meant to be resolved. Whether the family has ever had a conversation about what they each want for the business.

In other words, governance in a practical, day to day sense.

A lot of situations I see aren’t short of advice or capability. They’re short of a structure that allows decisions to be made consistently, without everything becoming personal or circular.

The underlying point is pretty simple. Spend the time to understand what’s actually going on before deciding what to do. Sometimes that leads to bringing in a specialist. Sometimes it doesn’t.

If you’re seeing situations where things aren’t progressing as you’d expect, even though good advice is on the table, I’d be interested in comparing notes.

Robert Powell is the founder of Family Boards Pty Limited and Greater Governance Pty Limited. He advises family owners and directors on governance, succession, and owner strategy, helping families align relationships, legacy, and long‑term value.