One magical day, the father walks
onto the job and, with a hand on his
son's shoulder, says something like,
"Son, it's time you took the reins of
control. I've watched you work; I know
you can make this business a success."
At this point the father exits to pursue
other interests and keeps his nose permanently
out of the business, unless
someone asks for his advice.
At least, that's the storybook version.
In reality, it's rarely that simple.
The fact is, in the father's eyes, the
kids are never quite ready to assume
control. And as anyone who's ever
nursed a business from start-up to
maturity can tell you, divorcing yourself
from the day-to-day affairs of