Can the company afford to continue? That's one of the key questions a family business must consider when deciding on succession, according to a new book, Arthur Andersen Answers the 101 Toughest Questions About Family Business.

        Writers Barbara B. Buchholz, Margaret Crane and Ross W. Nager say there are several related questions:

        • Can it generate the profits necessary to continue to grow despite current and future capital needs?

        • Is the company in a strong enough market position to remain competitive or does it require a major overhaul of its products?

        • Can current managers and personnel be sufficiently creative, energetic and resourceful to maintain and grow the company's market position?

        • Can the company take advantage of new market opportunities?

        • What is the state of the industry in which the business operates? A shrinking or consolidating industry can bode ill for the business and its long-term prospects.

        If the answers are yes, or most of them anyway, the authors say it is feasible to continue and recommend starting the transition process:

        • Decide on a successor, then groom that person, demanding commitment and gradually expanding responsibilities. Ensure that your successor develops necessary skills, experience and confidence to lead the company.

        • Clearly designate your heir-apparent to the rest of the family, as well as to employees and outside suppliers, clients, bankers and others. Actively work to gain their support for your decision.

        • Mentor your successor and consider someone else in the company as an additional or sole mentor.

        • Set a timetable for retirement or a deadline to shift power, put it into writing and stick to it.

        • Develop an estate plan for assets to be divided and transfer ownership to the next generation appropriately.

        • Let your heir-apparent begin making decisions without sabotaging those decisions. You must give your successor the latitude to make some mistakes.

        • Find a new role for yourself in the firm and simultaneously develop interests outside your business.

Videoconference: Dos and don'ts

               Increasing numbers of businesses are using videoconferencing for interviews or meetings.

        “Use common sense and conduct yourself as if you were being interviewed in person, or as if you were having an on-site group meeting,” said chairman Peter Guliano and president Frank Carillo of Executive Communications Group of Englewood, N.J. “Maintain eye contact by looking straight into the camera lens and speak slowly and deliberately.”

        Other tips:

        • Send out reports or charts to all participants before the conference and keep your message simple; no more than three key points.

        • Get to the conference ahead of schedule. Make sure there are no technical glitches and that you have all your material (PowerPoint presentation, graphs, etc.).

        • At the beginning of the conference, allow all participants to introduce themselves.

        • Don't sit like a stone, but don't be overly animated, either. Lean slightly forward in your chair.

        • Look confident. Smile and gesture with your hands.

        • Be cognizant of your quirks. Avoid fiddling with your glasses or tapping your pen on the table.

        • Don't be mesmerized by your own image on the monitor.

        • Don't move around while someone else is speaking. Avoid side conversations and don't get up and walk around the room during a presentation.

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