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The next step after completing the Family business plan is the development of the
strategic plan for the family business.

How A Family Business Plan would have helped the Buss Family
The development of a Family Business Plan would have helped the Buss Family
avoid the inevitable chaos that occurs when this type of plan has not been
completed. Such a plan should have been developed while Jerry Buss was alive and
could participate in the process of its development.
During that process, many of not all of the key issues (including “What ifs”) could
have been raised, discussed and resolved. For example, Jim Buss was given the
responsibility for managing the basketball operation of the Lakers. Some “what ifs”
that might have been discussed are:

 “What happens of the Lakers are “in decline” as a basketball team”?
 “Can Jim be removed from his role”?
 “What are some of the criteria and benchmarks for the team being ‘in

decline’”?
 “How serious must the decline be before removal is justified”?
Some families are “conflict adverse”. Some family leaders are “conflict adverse”
and would prefer to “pass” before these types of unpleasant issues are dealt with.
There are even some who intentionally leave behind a situation with the potential
for chaos because they want the organization to fail after they are gone, further
burnishing their reputation as “the Great Leader.” We have detailed this type of
leader in our book, Building Family Business Champions, in a chapter titled the
“Dark side of Family Business.”

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