1 week Ago By Srinath Sridharan
Why do business families fight? Is it just about money, fame, power, position, ego—or is it something deeper? And when they do, who pays the price? Themselves, surely. But also their employees, their shareholders, their legacy. When listed companies are involved, even retail investors and public trust are impacted.
Let me ask you something. If your family has built a successful business over 30 years, does that automatically mean the next generation will succeed too? If you’re thinking yes, take a moment to reflect. Because success isn’t inherited.
It’s built. Continuously.India’s business dynasties have built empires that fuel the economy, employ millions, and shape global markets.
Yet, many of these storied enterprises, led by family-run promoters, are one misstep away from chaos—often of their own making. Boardroom battles, inheritance disputes, and legal brawls have become as much a part of corporate India’s narrative as its economic growth. Some of the nation’s most respected conglomerates have seen their family disputes spill into salacious gossip columns and courtroom dramas, exposing the cracks in their succession planning.
The problem isn’t just about who takes over next. It’s about how these businesses—many of which control critical industries—prepare for leadership transition in a way that ensures long-term stability. Unlike professional corporations, where structured succession planning is a given, many Indian family businesses operate on a mix of legacy, entitlement, and resistance to change.
The result? Bitter infighting, shareholder uncertainty, and, in extreme cases, the decline of once-iconic enterprises.Across the world, businesses that survive generations follow one simple rule: leadership is earned, not inherited. Indian business families must embrace this reality.
Without clear succession strategies, professional governance, and an acceptance that no one stays in power forever, these once-mighty dynasties risk turning their legacies into cautionary tales. The world is watching. Investors are wary.
It’s time for India Inc. to prove that family businesses can be more than just family affairs.If history is full of failed successions, from monarchies to multinationals, then why do even the smartest and most successful business families get it wrong? Because they assume it won’t happen to them.
Many business families stumble in succession planning not because they lack wisdom or resources, but because they quietly believe they’re immortal and irreplaceable. Founders or patriarchs often delay hard conversations, convinced there’s always more time, or that no one else can do it quite like them.But emotions complicate even the best intentions.
Succession planning isn’t about giving up control—it’s about designing continuity. It’s not about withdrawing. It’s about preparing others to lead, with clarity and conviction.
A second-generation entrepreneur once told me, “My father taught me everything—except when to take over.” When the patriarch fell ill suddenly, chaos followed. Not due to bad intentions, but because succession had been delayed, avoided, postponed—until it was too late.
This is where we must return to an ancient idea—Vanaprastham. One of the four ashramas in Indian philosophy, Vanaprastham doesn’t mean retiring into the forest. It means making space.
It means preparing successors, guiding them with wisdom but not controlling their every step. It is the transition from authority to guidance. From ego to ecosystem.
From self to succession.This mindset, deeply Indian in origin, is the most forgotten principle in Indian business families today. It asks a simple question: if your legacy matters to you, why would you leave its future to chance?Even our epics show us how succession, when delayed or mishandled, can lead to instability.
Thousands of years may have passed, but the human struggle remains the same—pride, power, timing, attachment.Modern families may be sitting in boardrooms instead of royal courts, but the underlying questions haven’t changed. Who decides when it’s time to step aside? How do you prepare someone to lead without handing them entitlement? How do you balance legacy and evolution?Business families must learn that succession is not wealth distribution or estate planning.
It is not a will. It is not a legal document. It is a process—of grooming, mentoring, observing, trusting, and letting go.
It is strategic. Cultural. Emotional.
Governance-led.And yes, it can be started now, no matter how long it’s been delayed.Ask yourself:• Have I truly empowered the next generation—or just assumed they’ll learn by watching me?• Have I given them responsibility—or just titles?• Have I prepared my business to thrive without me—or secretly built it to collapse in my absence?Start by opening a conversation.
Build a governance structure. Separate ownership from management, and both from daily operations. Invite independent voices to your table.
Mentor successors privately, but test them publicly. Let your principles—not just your profits—guide them.Also, understand that successors today need more than product knowledge or market instinct.
They need to be board-ready. They need ESG fluency. They need to understand capital markets, global trade, digital leadership.
These things don’t arrive at inheritance. They require exposure. Trust.
Mentorship.Most of all, business families must overcome the inertia of tradition. Because the most dangerous assumption is that things will work themselves out.
They rarely do. Silence doesn’t create continuity. Planning does.
You don’t just pass the baton—you prepare the runner. Vanaprastham is not about disappearing. It’s about stepping back with grace, so that the next generation can step forward with strength.
Legacy isn’t what you leave behind. It’s what you build forward.Srinath Sridharan is a policy researcher and corporate advisor, and the author of ‘Family and Dhanda’.
The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of NDTV Profit or its editorial team.. Read more on Business by NDTV Profit.
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