Creating A Powerful Family Business History

29. Creating A Powerful Family Business History (Part 2): A Guide for Organizing Your History

Tool Preview (Part 2): Part 1 guided you in collecting the information you will need to create a more powerful family business history. Part 2 helps you organize your history as it has evolved, so that you have all the information you need to craft your new story.

As always, review the questions in the tool below and modify them to fit your business conditions and concerns.
This task can be used as a developmental exercise that helps someone to understand the historical context of the business idea.
This is a particularly valuable assignment for a younger family member in the successor generation or an outside manager brought in to play a significant role, who could benefit from gaining an appreciation of the complexities of the business.

A Guide for Organizing Your History

Timeframe Market Conditions, Assumptions, and Brand Promises

Original Business Idea What could you do?
Your offerings
Your capabilities
What made your offering special or valuable?
To whom was it valuable?
Ideal customer
Range of customers
What made you different from or better than your competition?
As you see it
As perceived by customers
Who were key contributors to successful implementation of the business idea?
Family, employees, allies, customers, suppliers, competitors
What are the stories of those who contributed to your success?

Evolutions of the Original Business Idea(Repeat as needed) What are the key changes in the above original ideas/conditions that contributed to the evolutions of your business idea?
Did your offerings change? Why or why not?
Did your capabilities change?
Did your customers change?
Did your competitors change?
Did your differentiation from your customers change?
Whose contributions were key, and what are their stories?

Current Business Idea What is your current business idea? Your Brand promise?
What are the market conditions and assumptions that support it?
Whose contributions have been key in bringing this about?
What are their stories?

Future Business Idea Any market conditions and trends you foresee that will evolve your business? Hints as to where you’re going?

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Timeframe	Market Conditions, Assumptions, and Brand Promises
Original Business Idea	What could you do? Your offerings Your capabilities What made your offering special or valuable? To whom was it valuable? Ideal customer Range of customers What made you different from or better than your competition? As you see it As perceived by customers Who were key contributors to successful implementation of the business idea? Family, employees, allies, customers, suppliers, competitors What are the stories of those who contributed to your success?
Evolutions of the Original Business Idea(Repeat as needed)	What are the key changes in the above original ideas/conditions that contributed to the evolutions of your business idea? Did your offerings change? Why or why not? Did your capabilities change? Did your customers change? Did your competitors change? Did your differentiation from your customers change? Whose contributions were key, and what are their stories?
Current Business Idea	What is your current business idea? Your Brand promise? What are the market conditions and assumptions that support it? Whose contributions have been key in bringing this about? What are their stories?
Future Business Idea	Any market conditions and trends you foresee that will evolve your business? Hints as to where you’re going?