Welcome to the Family Business Simulation: Honey Heritage. This simulation is about

Welcome to the Family Business Simulation: Honey Heritage.

This simulation is about navigating the unique challenges often present when running a family business over many years and multiple generations. As you begin, you will read the origin story of the honey farm as well as the early business and lifestyle decisions made by the family. Once you move through the first generation, you will be presented with decisions that you must make for the family business. It’s important to weigh each decision carefully. Remember that you can always view the family’s current members by going to the Family Tree page. Make sure to play through the tutorial before getting started.

Harsh got into the honey business by accident. Hard-working and resourceful, he left school at a young age to care for his parents, now deceased. He worked odd jobs in a rural town in India supporting his wife, Radhika, and their three young children, Seema, Ravi, and Ashok.

One day Harsh was asked to clean out a beehive at his employer’s farmhouse. While he was removing the hive, he saw the honeycomb with honey and wondered if there was a market for it. His boss wasn’t interested in the honey, so Harsh asked if he could sell it on his own. Radhika helped him pack it into small jars and designed a label for them.

Harsh sold the honey to a local store, which very quickly sold the jars to customers. When the store owner asked for more honey, Harsh went back to his boss and asked if he could have a small parcel of land in his employer’s farm to keep the hives. His employer encouraged him, and in return Harsh assured him a lifetime supply of honey.

May 1976 Generation 1

Honey Farm

Harsh increased the number of hives to 200, and his little operation became a booming business. He began to put hives in other properties around the area, starting with his neighbors, who were happy to have bees pollinating their gardens. Once he made the rounds of his neighbors, he began to go further afield. He knew many of the larger houses in the countryside were second homes of wealthy families who only came to visit during holiday times or occasional weekends. They, too, were happy to have Harsh maintain his bee boxes on their properties.

Growing at this rate became very time-consuming. Harsh soon left his odd jobs work and concentrated solely on his honey business. He realized that he had limited knowledge, so he went to other beekeepers to learn the business. Radhika stepped in to handle the honey production and packing, first in the family kitchen and then in a small, closed factory when the business outgrew their home.

Harsh: I need to focus on the business and make it grow, it is my only priority right now. There will be time to enjoy life and luxuries later. I need to do this for my family and kids.

Radhika: We hardly see you as it is! But this business could soon support a full staff, and you could have more time with your family in the future. Even still, your children hardly know you; try to strike a balance.

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Harsh focuses time and money on the business

Harsh spends quality time with his family while maintaining business responsibilities

March 1980 Generation 1

Honey Farm

A typical day for Harsh was to gather honey from different hives all day long before returning to the factory.

The company was running very efficiently, but Harsh was in the midst of everything. Every decision needed his approval. He managed the retailers and the distributors. He signed every check. He knew all the employees and customers, and most customers preferred to speak to him directly. Harsh was happy to speak to them at any time and was also known to travel great distances just to meet them should they have a problem.

But his work was taking a toll, and Radhika expressed her concerns.

Radhika: Harsh, we are so proud of all you have accomplished. I am worried, however, that you are not taking proper care of yourself. You are working such long hours, you should be sleeping in comfort. You should upgrade your plane tickets and hotels so you can be refreshed.

Harsh: I’m fine, I sleep well when I get home.

May 1983 Generation 2

Honey Farm

All of Harsh’s children grew up watching him work hard at the honey farm and feel a deep connection to the family business. While at university, Seema met Gaurav and they fell in love. At the wedding, the family gave Gaurav two drops of honey from Honey Farm to welcome him into the family and symbolically bring him in as part of the company as well. This soon became a tradition at all family weddings.

Harsh and Radhika were touched by the idea of their children and future in-laws caring about Honey Farm after all their hard work. They dreamed that one day they would give each of their grandchildren two drops of honey on their first birthday to welcome them into the honey farm tradition.

anuary 1989 Generation 2

Honey Farm

After graduating from university, Seema, the eldest of Harsh and Radhika’s children, began to take an interest in the philanthropic activities of the company. It was important to Harsh and Radhika that Honey Farm give back to the communities it operated in. They earmarked 5% of their annual profits toward charitable giving, which was becoming a significant amount.

Ravi, now 23 years old, graduated with a masters degree in business administration. Harsh was happy to have Ravi join the company, and soon Ravi was helping in every aspect of the business. He had been an average student, but proved to be a hard worker and was eager to please his father.

Ashok, the youngest, had grown up during a time when the business was more successful than it had been during his siblings’ early childhoods. He was not very enthusiastic about education, but Ravi persuaded his father to insist that Ashok get a professional degree before joining the family business. Ashok reluctantly agreed and enrolled in an engineering program.

January 1997 Generation 2

Honey Farm

In 1993, Ashok married Vaishali, a woman he met during a foreign trip. He insisted that it was love at first sight. Vaishali, by her behavior, managed to convince all the other family members that she was not the right person for Ashok, but Ashok was adamant and refused to listen. Harsh and Radhika were against the marriage, but Ashok went ahead with the wedding.

Fights broke out after the wedding, and only two years later they got divorced. They had not signed a pre-nup, and Vaishali claimed half of Ashok’s share of the business.

Ashok was depressed about his failed marriage and upset that he no longer held as much ownership of Honey Farm. Eventually, he met Nandini and fell in love again. They got married in 1997.

November 1997 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Harsh began to rely on Ravi to run the business more and more. Under Harsh’s guidance, Ravi had proven himself a careful businessman, and Harsh began to take a back seat.

Honey Farm was on track to become a leading player within the honey industry in India. There were offices in several major cities within the country, and much of Ravi’s time was spent traveling between locations.

Ashok, having finished his education, wanted to work in business development. He enjoyed the international travel that was taking too much of his brother’s time, as well as the nomadic lifestyle that came from living out of a suitcase.

At this point, the philanthropic activities managed by Seema were more work than one person with a young family could manage, so she began to build a sizable department of her own.

Harsh considered all three of his children as equal, and therefore paid them all equally. Work-related expenses (such as travel and accommodations) were covered by drawing funds from the company.

May 2003 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Ravi has now been running the company most of the time and has earned Harsh’s respect and confidence on business matters. Still, Harsh has reservations about formally handing control of Honey Farm to Ravi. Tension is starting to rise, as Ravi has ideas about new markets within honey confectionery, but Harsh is not eager to change from their core business of pure honey. Ravi’s frustration is increasing, and he threatened to quit the company if he is not given independent charge. But can Harsh bear to let go?

Harsh: I’ve become used to the respect and prestige that comes with creating a successful business from the ground up. Plus I love Honey Farm; I just don’t think I’m ready to be put on the sidelines. And there is so much at stake! If Ravi makes a mistake and the business fails, what will happen to the family?

Radhika: We are not as young as we once were, and we should consider how best to enjoy our twilight years after all of this hard work.

Ravi: I have been running the business under your guidance, and have been happy doing so. But you need to let go or I will quit!

Harsh asked Ajay, a long time family friend, for advice.

Ajay: How long will you continue? The business needs fresh blood to continue growing, and you need to let go. Your son has been working long enough to understand what the business needs. You should hand over the reins and take a step back.

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Continue to oversee business operations

Let go of the company

November 2003 Generation 2

Honey Farm

With his new-found executive power, Ravi launches formal research into the plausability of offering different product lines within the category of honey-flavored and honey-infused foods. After receiving a positive response, he launches several new products.

Seema and Ashok are proud of their brother, and glad to see him implement new product launches and operational efficiencies which prove beneficial to the business’s bottom line.

August 2012 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Ravi instills a more participative management as the CEO, where the siblings discuss issues and, in the case of disagreements, defer to Ravi.

Ravi has spent significant time consolidating the business after Harsh’s passing, and now faces the issues of professionalizing. Seema and Ashok have been running their branches of Honey Farm for quite some time, and the business has become so large that outside expertise could be a good option. Talented high-level managers could help run the company and handle the operations that are overwhelming the three siblings.

Ravi: The family business is my responsibility, my legacy. How can I trust someone else to run this properly? What if they ruin it all? I am not sure what good they will do, but can I take the risk? I don’t want to be the person who ruined the family business. And will I be allowed to contribute to the business if the professionals take over? My external advisors are saying that professionals have run other companies successfully, and these companies have grown and achieved great heights. What should I do?

Priti: What? You are not capable? Professionals will probably take the company underground. Outsiders cannot be better than family members. If you think you are not able to handle the company, then hand it over to your brother or nephew!

Ajay: Every person has limits to their capabilities. The business has grown to a level far beyond your capabilities, which is a good thing, and now it could be run better by professional management. You need to have processes and systems in place so that the business runs independently of you: this is what professionals can do.

Ashok: (Calling from Paris) I can take over and handle this better than any professional can! As long as it doesn’t prevent me from traveling, of course.

Seema: Would they replace the need for family members? Having more help would alleviate some stress, but I still want to be involved in the company.

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Hire professionals

Keep all major roles in the family

April 2013 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Seema, Ravi, and Ashok work together to find a chief operating officer (COO), who hires three outside professionals to manage the finances, operations, and marketing, respectively. The new COO comes from a large organic foods company and quickly demonstrates a thorough understanding of Honey Farm’s retail business.

Ravi: I think that, although many of you expressed doubts, we needed to take this step. We need to have good people to rely on in order to grow.

Radhika: I was afraid of this. You have taken the first step toward the destruction of the family legacy. These professionals will drive the company into the ground. They will never have the same level of commitment as family members!

Avni: I wonder if we really need all these people, which only add to our costs and would reduce our profits. Why not give additional responsibility to those who are already here?

Ashok: (Calling from Las Vegas) Yeah, you could have asked me to run the business! Anyway, the trade fair here in Las Vegas was tough; I’m late for my flight to a conference in Honolulu, you guys figure it out.

December 2016 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Until now, the company’s board of directors has been a fairly informal gathering of family members meeting on an ad-hoc basis. Seema questions the wisdom of this practice, as her professional work with nonprofits exposes her to a variety of governing boards.

Seema: External people can enrich our board discussions by offering different points of view. Sometimes you need that, especially in cases where groups may think alike.

Ashok: (Calling from Honolulu) I think we should give preference to family members; after all, who knows our business better than us? Our mother died distressed that you brought in outsiders, Ravi. Do you want to dishonor her memory by bringing in even more? I’ll call you when I land in Rome; you can brief me on what happened.

Ravi: Having independent directors has been recommended by a lot of people. Does this makes sense for our company? We are now a market leader. How would an external person help? What would they know about our business? Can we trust a stranger with the confidentiality of our trade secrets?

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Build a mixed board

Retain a family-only board

Ravi: The business is still young; I suppose the family can still grow it before it becomes so large that we need outside help. Besides, what does a board do, anyway? We have outside professionals in our company already.

June 2019 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Honey Farm has been growing steadily, and some of the younger managers believe that internal funds are not enough to cover their growth. Someone suggests that the company should turn to external investors for their funding requirements. The company has a good track record and the fundamentals are excellent, so attracting good external investors would not be a challenge. Outside funds would help Honey Farm grow faster, and external investors could also bring in additional expertise.

Ravi: I wonder if we need external funds? They would allow us to grow much faster and not be dependent on our internal business funds. On the other hand, it might mean that we will be subject to the wishes of those who have invested in our company. But if we want to take the company to the next level we will need a large cash investment.

Seema: Why do you want to grow so fast? We have enough to take care of the family needs and growing bigger would probably mean letting go of control or sharing control with others. Do we really need to do this?

Independent Board Member: Why not consider external funds, especially when you are growing so fast? And you said so yourself, the internal funds are not enough.

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Continue to self-fund

Acquire external funds

Ravi: We need more money in order to grow, and at the rate we are growing our internal funds are just not enough. If we are going to take on the international giants, we will need to go public. This is the first step in that direction.

Ashok: Well, I guess we are beholden to even more people. I hope the cash is put to good use now.

Seema: This feels like you have sold our company. I still am unsure why we need to grow so quickly.

October 2020 Generation 2

Honey Farm

So far, Honey Farm has diversified from pure honey only as far as honey-based confectionery, candies, syrups, and other treats. The COO shares ideas about branching into new products, such as personal and household products.

Ravi: Should we diversify? The business is doing quite well, and diversifying would mean that we are diverting our profits into another field that we may not be best at.

Priti: This would mean lower dividends for all, would the rest of the family agree with that?

Tanay: Diversification is a good strategy as it would help to avoid a situation where all our eggs are in the same basket. What if something happens to the honey business?

Ashok: (Calling from Beijing) I am not too happy with funds being invested in risky activities when they could be distributed directly to us.

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Focus on and enhance current product lines

Launch R&D effort into personal products

Ravi: I don’t want to move away from pure honey. This business runs in our veins, and it’s the only business we know

Seema: Our dad would be happy that we are staying true to his legacy.

Ashok: I’m happy with this decision, although if we had diversified I was looking forward to traveling even more than I already do to handle new divisions.

January 2024 Generation 2

Honey Farm

Now that he is 60 years old, Ravi is thinking about stepping down as CEO. He had always hoped his daughters Avni and Tia would take over the family business’ leadership after him. His youngest daughter, Simran, has a bee allergy and always avoided the business because of it.

Ravi prepared Avni and Tia their whole lives (sent them to the best schools, offered them jobs he hoped they would enjoy within Honey Farm); sadly, neither of them thrived. Avni conflicted with most of her direct reports, and Tia lacked ambition and failed to advance through the ranks.

More broadly, Ravi wonders if the business would continue to grow under the third generation. More family members could mean more disagreement and conflict. Who should lead? Would everyone else be able to follow?

Ravi: I wonder what I should do? If I keep qualifications as a criteria then the business will have capable people running it, but that means some family members wouldn’t progress in the company. Some family members could get very upset since this would prevent some of them from joining the business. Is the business a right for the family members to join, regardless of their qualifications? After all, if they were not family members, would I hire them? And what should I do about my daughters? I had always imagined Avni and Tia taking my place when I retired, but most of the family considers them unfit for leadership. I have dedicated my entire professional life to Honey Farm, I don’t want to make the wrong decision.

Priti: What difference do the qualifications make? Our children are our children. They are part of the family! It is their right to join the family business, regardless of their education or experience. Why should there be any conditions for them to join?

Seema: A business should be run by competent, capable people, even if they aren’t family. That is the only way a business can be successful. Look at how well we’ve done since hiring an outside COO.

Avni: The business is for the benefit of our family, so it is our right to use it for the benefit of our family.

Tia: The family business supports our lifestyle. Our holidays, our houses, our cars, all of these come from the business. Our family has put so much sacrifice and hard work into the company, so it is only natural that the family should benefit from it. I have the right to join and work in the business, because I am part of the family. And family members should get more, since they are adding value to the business.

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Announce Avni as the new CEO

Open a formal CEO search

Ravi: I need to ensure that Honey Farm provides employment opportunities for the family. After all it is a family business, and the family members should run the business regardless of their qualifications. Their birth into this family is qualification enough. What use is the business if family cannot join?

Ashok: While I agree that the family should run the business, Avni is not the right person for the job! Let’s hope she doesn’t do irreversible damage.

Priti: I like this decision. This will create a chance for all our kids to benefit from the family business. You should also ask our son-in-law to join.

Family Business Advisor: I’m a little concerned about choosing Avni over more qualified family members. Hopefully she is up to the challenge and communicates well with the board

Epilogue Generation 2

Honey Farm

Avni did a very poor job running Honey Farm and company profits declined. Although all the family members still care strongly about the company and worked through Avni’s poor leadership, their overall unwillingness to include outsiders and their fear of diversification mean that the company is never able to scale up. Although running Honey Farm manages to keep some of the family’s lifestyles going, several of the cousins realize that it isn’t large enough for them and they move on to other professions. A few towns over, a new honey farm springs up and quickly becomes a major global player; as Jay and Tia go to their new jobs every day they see this honey farm and wonder what could have been.

You’ve reached the end of the simulation. Review your results below:

Business

You achieved Closed Business

Global International

Regional Multinational

National

Regional

Local

Closed

Available Business Types: Global International, Regional Multinational, National, Regional, Local, Closed

Although the business has closed, all of Harsh’s descendants continue the tradition of giving two drops of honey to each new baby on their first birthday.

Family

Your family relationship is Medium

Family members would prefer a little more say in running the business.

Ownership

Your ownership value is Low

The company’s shareholders, family members included, are angry with management.

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