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Transition Consulting Group is a family owned consulting business led by father-son team Paul & David Karofsky. Both offer decades of first-hand and professional experience in Family Business Planning consulting, coaching, mentoring, and leadership.
Paul Karofsky is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Harvard Business School’s OPM Program. After 22 years, mostly as third generation CEO in his family’s distribution business, he sold the company and earned his Ed.M. from Harvard University focused on the psychosocial lives of families and intergenerational relationships. He is Executive Director Emeritus of Northeastern University’s Center for Family Business where he facilitated the Center’s Leadership Development Forum which was endowed Read more
- Initial family meeting
- Discovery phase
- Implementation phase
One of the major differences between small and large companies is how decisions are made. In a large organization, decision making can be slow, arduous and often in a silo. In small companies, decision making is often a more nimble and holistic process. Empower your employees to make decisions that look across the business and beyond just their respective silo... Read more
This was an extremely positive experience! David is 'The Great Facilitator of Communication' and truly understands all the challenging facets and personal dynamics of a family business. We highly recommend Transition Consulting Group to any business struggling with this daunting process of the transitioning of leadership to the next generation.
Thanks, David! Much appreciated on all fronts. I always enjoy taking a leap of faith with a service professional and being very pleasantly surprised in both the "art" of their service and in discovering how deep my (our) need for that service really is. Much appreciated – thank you, thank you, thank you.
It has been a pleasure working with you on our family business transition plan. At first, I tried working with one of our business attorneys and our accountant. After several months, it became apparent that we needed a specialist. Fortunately, we were referred to you and our relationship worked out well. Since we have two 30-year olds to deal with, they have related to David while Paul and I are contemporaries. You have been responsive to and understanding of our goals. Your experience and personalities have worked well to facilitate dialogue relating to sensitive issues. We have recommended you to friends, and will gladly continue to do so.
When family members go into business together, they take lots of risks-both financially and personally. Over 15 years ago our family business was in crisis and was introduced to Transition Consulting Group. Back then I never thought we would survive, let alone thrive. Here we are many years and crises later; we are still going strong thanks to the continuing guidance of TCG. TCG has become a most trusted advisor, having shared the gift and passion for practical approaches for resolving crises. The life experience of TCG's principals provides for a constructive process to speedy and healthy resolutions.
Three years ago we were faced with my father's retirement. We knew what we wanted as a family and as a business organization, but we were not getting there. My father had attended a family business lecture given by Mr. Paul Karofsky. From the first moment we met we knew we had made the right decision. His knowledge about business, family relationships, leadership, conflict resolution, and his wisdom and charisma guided us through our transition. Paul will always be a key part of our history as a family and as a business.
It is essential for any family in business together to learn how to distinguish between what is family and what is business. Transition Consulting Group helped us do just that; it has made our family time better and our business discussions more productive.
Transition Consulting Group has worked with our family for over fifteen years. They have earned the trust of my parents and all of my siblings. Our family unity today is due in a large part to the efforts of TCG. They have helped us separate family issues from business issues. I don't believe we would be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner together without their efforts and I don't believe we would be running a successful restaurant company today without their efforts.
Once we realized that all the shareholders were not quite 'on the same page,' we felt we needed help in conducting family meetings to reach consensus. Transition Consulting Group was able to assist us with some of the more sensitive issues on a very discrete basis. With their help, we established a three generation Family Council which allowed us to openly discuss the family's history, culture, and the values of a legacy brand as well as the next generation's commitment to our family business. They helped us to move forward in a positive way with a clearer sense of direction.
We were a successful family business that was struggling with balancing family and business. David and Paul helped us become a business family. Once we were able to do that, becoming a family was a natural step. Thanks to the help at Transition Consulting, we're more focused as a business and more comfortable as a family.
When I was contemplating the purchase of another family owned business, I immediately enlisted Paul's services. I knew that Paul's sensitivity and experience, in understanding the dynamics of families in business would be invaluable in helping to defray the angst and emotion, which was sure to play a role in any potential transaction. Paul proved to be the perfect mediator, and I wouldn't hesitate to call upon him again, whether it be for purchases of other owned family businesses, or stock purchases within the family.
