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20 | Boating Industry | February 2015 [ All in the family ] www.BoatingIndustry.com different skill set, and I think we know that, un- derstand it and utilize the strengths to the best of our ability." Though the siblings each have their skill sets in separate parts of the business, isolation is never the goal. "Ultimately, we're all on the same leadership team and we lead the company as a whole," Whowell said. "[A] company gathered around a vision, mission, values and alignment is critical." Having siblings run a family owned and oper- ated business helps establish a culture of family among its employees, to the point where some customers have assumed non-related employees are part of the Whowell family. "How do you build a culture? By modeling it at the top," said Whowell. "I think the fam- ily members being there and modeling that cul- ture in the organization sends a clear message throughout the team." "Everybody has so much more commitment, dedication and concern for the customer and their teammates on a personal level," said Chupich. The one thing the siblings at Gordy's never forget to do is have fun. They make time for paintball games and other activities, and of course days on the water. "We all enjoy this fun business and what it pro- vides for our own family as well," said Whowell. When it comes to running a business with your siblings, Chupich cannot stress enough the importance and value of working with a 20 group. Many 20 groups work with outside consultants in areas such as family business consulting. "There's a lot of family businesses, as well as per- spective, [in 20 groups] that can be huge resources for any family member involved," said Chupich. Whowell suggests looking for business cen- ters and experts who specifically cater to family businesses, not necessarily marine businesses. For example, the University of Wisconsin – Madison near Gordy's has a family business center the family has utilized in the past. The Family Business Consulting Group in Chicago has also provided useful insights in specific busi- ness areas such as sibling partnerships and creat- ing a board of directors. "[Dealers are] experts in the marine world, but we may not be experts in family businesses and managing them. Use the resources who are," said Whowell. "Once you start to do some re- search, I think a whole world opens up of op- portunity of resources that are available." Poole recommends taking a leadership de- velopment program with your siblings to un- derstand each other's working styles as well as your own. She says she and her brother learned a lot about one another in the process of taking a course through Spader Business Management. "[We learned] about each other's personali- ties, our strengths and weaknesses, areas where we can help each other, ways we can better communicate," said Poole. Succession: Talk often and plan early All of these family dynamics become factors in one key event in the business's lifetime: succes- sion. How do you manage family relationships while transitioning ownership and keep the business thriving? Larry Russo, Sr. has inherited Russo Marine and passed it on to the next generation, so he's seen both sides of the equation. As an only child, Russo's transition into ownership of the business was a smooth one, but passing it on to his two sons was a bit more challenging. The transition period began in 1998. Russo turned 50 and his sons Larry Jr. and Alex decided to hire a succession planner for Russo, knowing that planning can often get deferred. "My kids were pretty progressive in their thinking about protecting the business assets and protecting the value of the business by ensuring that we'd have professional guidance through the transitional period," said Russo. Russo Marine hired professionals to guide them through the process of transferring the company stock, with tax avoidance as the moti- vation. Over the next 10 years, Russo Marine's accountants annually gifted stock from Russo to his sons. The Russos also obtained cross-pur- The Whowell family at Gordy's never forgets to have fun together. "We all enjoy this fun business and what it provides for our own family as well." — Tom G. Whowell