The business seems to be thriving…
…but what about alignment in the family conversations?
A family business can be a source of joy, revenue, cohesion, and a sharing of ambitions and experiences…
And at the same time it can also be an ongoing struggle. A struggle to try and figure out how to juggle all the stakes and interests, the communication, the relationships and the plans for the future.
The difference?
Conversations.
Business families that struggle tend to be families that don’t have the necessary conversations. Or they have the conversations, but they just never result in the outcomes and progress that the business needs and that everybody in the family really wants.
For over 15 years I have helped families navigate the tricky intersections of communication, legacy and leadership. Through robust, honest conversations I support families to align their vision for the assets and businesses they own together, and strengthen trust and harmony across generations.
I’m Mairi Mickel.
I help you have the conversations your family needs.
Navigating the complexity
One of the big challenges in a family business is its inherent complexity:
Several generations in the mix, ownership and leadership concerns, individual stakes and system-wide interests… there is no business family quite like any other.
Which is why the standard, templated solutions that big consultancies provide are often so ill-suited to the job.
Yes, you might get a great business outcome, but if you don’t also work with the personal, human and systemic aspects of change, you just might successfully transition the business while driving the family apart.
A family business in transition or looking for well planned solutions requires more than a rigid plan and a tidy timeline.
The process of change and transition itself can be planned to a certain degree, but invariably much more emerges during its rollout, and your project implementation will need to adapt accordingly.
The Mickel Practice is the guide that your business family can trust as you go through the complexity of a change process.
The generational perspective I bring ensures that all voices are heard, interests are recognised, and I will support you to properly consider the potential consequences of your family’s decisions.
The people
I work with
The Mickel Practice works with business families who want to nurture and protect what they’ve built.
Protecting the legacy and the capitals your business family has nurtured, including its assets, the enterprise as well as the family, its integrity, its ambitions and its relationships.
Different types of people call on me for support, and the below are some examples of common situations I encounter:
A founder thinking about what comes next - for them, for the business but also for the owning family
A next-generation family member stepping into a new role, or struggling with a sense of responsibility for how their parents will ultimately hand over the venture
An owner looking for a plan towards selling the business
A family navigating succession, governance - or who are facing a shift in how decisions get made
The Business FD or a Family Office Exec who have been facilitating inter generational family discussions and are starting to feel out of their depth
Families facing discomfort because they are stuck - they may know where they want to go but getting started on that journey is just too hard or vexing
Whatever brought you here: if this is the time to have a conversation about ‘what’s next’ or ‘where next’, you’ve come to the right place.
“Mairi doesn’t just make you feel safe: she makes you safe”
To make a family business work, frank and open communication is vital. And for family members to share their concerns, wishes and ambitions, in a way that advances things rather than cause problems, safety is a requirement.
My many years as an owner of and advisor to family business enable me to create situations where you and your relatives don’t just feel safe:
I create the environment where people actually are safe.
No more elephants in the room, no more unvoiced complaints or guarded resentment, but helpful, constructive conversations that give everyone at the table a voice, and give the business and family a chance to learn and thrive together.
Working together
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Consulting & advising
For families navigating the complex intersection of business and family.
This is where my consultancy work lives - where I roll up my sleeves and work with the whole family business system.
Whether your family is facing succession, governance, a shift in leadership, or simply a sense that the conversations you need aren't happening, this is where we start.
The work typically moves through three phases: understanding where you really are, aligning around where you want to go, and building the structures that hold you there across generations. -
Coaching
For individuals who carry the weight of complexity by themselves
Sometimes the work isn't about the whole family. It's about you - the founder, or the next-generation leader, or the non-family executive trying to navigate a system you weren't born into.
Coaching with The Mickel Practice offers a private, confidential space to think clearly, decide wisely, and lead with more confidence and clarity - both in the business realm and the family realm.
