Go BackWhat Family Companies Teach Us About Strategic Execution
This week, I was on a conference call with the European marketing heads of a large multinational client. Sharp minds, solid ideas. But the same comment kept resurfacing, in different languages and tones: “Without stronger involvement from the top, we simply can’t get things through. Sales won’t align. Priorities shift. Great ideas stall.”
That conversation stayed with me.
That evening, I thought back to the hundreds of brand and positioning projects I’ve worked on across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Different industries, different cultures, but one constant truth: when the top is involved — really involved — everything moves differently.
That’s what this article is about, a challenge that also applies to any effective family-owned business strategy.”
Not a framework. Not a theory.
Just a few reflections from working closely and quietly with business owners, board members, and senior leaders who operate with a long-term view.
Who really leads in family companies?
Table of Contents
- Who really leads in family companies?
- The myths (and realities) of business owners
- Why Mediterranean families are a case study in longevity
- The role no one talks about
- The real work happens in the subtext
- Every family has its own code.
- Family-owned Business Strategy – How do you know if this is what’s missing?
- Family-owned Business Strategy – A final word
- About the author
In corporations, leadership is often spread across layers of governance. In family-owned businesses, things are different. To understand how a family-owned business strategy works, you have to look beyond the org chart.
Even when the org chart shows a General Manager at the top of a market or region, there’s often a deeper center of gravity: a family member who may not speak often, but whose word, or silence, carries weight.
And when they’re engaged in a project, you can feel it:
- Priorities are clear
- Teams move faster
- Internal resistance fades
- And most importantly, execution happens
I’ve seen it happen in dozens of markets:
- A local Marketing Director has a breakthrough initiative, but sales refuses to push it because “it didn’t come from the top”
- A rebranding plan stalls because legacy products “aren’t touched” without the owner’s sign-off
- A digital shift gets stuck midstream because finance isn’t convinced, and no one feels empowered to resolve the stalemate
These aren’t failures of competence. They’re symptoms of something deeper: lack of visible conviction from the people who really matter.
When the top is not involved, even the best plans get quietly parked. Not by malice, but by inertia.
The myths (and realities) of business owners
There are two tired stereotypes of business owners, both equally wrong.
One is the detached heir, simply spending inherited wealth.
The other is the ruthless capitalist, focused solely on squeezing out profit.
In my experience, neither is true.
The truth is more complex and more human.
What I’ve encountered time and again are individuals who care deeply.
Yes, about profit. But also about:
- Control without micromanaging
- Being respected, not necessarily loved
- Making decisions that feel aligned, not just efficient
- The legacy that lasts beyond them
- They want the company to outlive them. Stronger, clearer, and still in line with the values they’ve upheld for decades, if not generations
They don’t look for headlines or applause. They make decisions thinking in decades, not quarters.
Why Mediterranean families are a case study in longevity
In countries like Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, or Turkey, it’s not uncommon to find businesses that have been family-owned for centuries. One of the most famous examples is Beretta, founded in 1526 and now in its 15th generation of family leadership.
These are not businesses driven by quarterly reporting, they follow a family-owned business strategy shaped by values, rituals, and unwritten rules.
They’re shaped by values, rituals, and unwritten rules.
Their playbook doesn’t come from business schools. And it doesn’t need to.
Why big consultancies often miss the mark
Many traditional advisory firms struggle with these clients. Not because their models are flawed, but because their models are generic.
What works in a listed multinational, with layers of accountability and uniform systems, often fails in a family enterprise. There, the logic is emotional, historical, intuitive. It works for them, but only if you understand it from the inside.
Pushing a ready-made solution, even if brilliant, can be like trying to teach a foreign language by raising your voice. It won’t land.
Not because they didn’t hear you. Because it wasn’t their language.
When the top is aligned, the whole company breathes differently
In every project where we saw exceptional results, from long-term revenue growth to internal culture change, there was one invisible ingredient: the owner’s belief. Not just presence. Belief.
And the company felt it.
It’s not just about having the owner in the room. It’s about having their conviction, their energy, and their belief behind the project.
When that happens:
- Teams don’t see strategy as an extra burden, but as an opportunity
- Sales stops resisting and starts building
- Middle management is not caught in the middle, it becomes a bridge
That doesn’t happen through authority. It happens through alignment.
The role no one talks about
Most of these families already have trusted legal counsel, investment advisors, and operational confidants.
But there’s a role that’s rarely filled, and quietly transformative when it is:
Someone who helps them think about how the brand shows up, not just in the market, but inside their own company.
Not with slogans or style guides. But with clarity, coherence, and quiet strategic intent.
When this work is done well, it doesn’t feel like “marketing.”
It feels like shared understanding.
The real work happens in the subtext
Advising a family business is never about presenting “the answer.”
The first phase is about listening between the lines:
- What’s not being said in the boardroom
- Where the real fears lie
- What traditions can evolve, and what must be protected
Every family has its own code.
The role of a good advisor isn’t to rewrite it. It’s to translate it into strategy, without losing its soul.
That kind of work takes time. And trust. But when it happens, it doesn’t just create alignment. It creates momentum.
Family-owned Business Strategy – How do you know if this is what’s missing?
Over time, I’ve learned to spot the signals:
- Good ideas that circulate endlessly without a decision
- Teams that avoid bold moves because “it’s not worth the politics.”
- A marketing vision that shifts every 12 months, but never lands
- Strategy documents that grow in size but shrink in conviction
- Senior leaders who privately admit, “I’m not sure what we’re trying to be anymore”
When those patterns emerge, it’s rarely just a strategy problem.
It’s an alignment one.
And that’s something only the top can fix. Quietly, but decisively.
Family-owned Business Strategy – A final word
Not every company needs this approach.
But for those that do, it can quietly change everything.
If any part of this resonated, I’d be happy to keep the conversation going. Privately, and without agenda. Sometimes the best ideas don’t come from a pitch. They come from understanding what’s already there, and what’s possible when it’s aligned.
Luca Bertocci is a co-founder and co-owner of Human Centric Group, where he partners with boards, founders, and C-level executives to transform brands into strategic business assets. He leads the agency’s analytical department, applying a data-driven approach to unlock sustainable, long-term value for global clients such as Carlsberg, PepsiCo, Danone, Mitsubishi Electric, and Carrefour, across more than 30 countries.
Before Human Centric Group, Luca was an equity partner at Garrison Group and held key roles at Pirelli Tyres and Desk Promos (special agency of the Italian Chamber of Commerce) during Expo Shanghai 2010.
Beyond consulting, Luca is a lecturer at Krakow School of Business (International MBA), and AGH Business School (EMBA and Tech MBA). He also serves as a mentor for Bocconi University and for several startups in Poland, combining entrepreneurial spirit with academic rigor.
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