The world is currently in the midst of the largest wealth transfer in human history, valued at $68 trillion, as baby boomers retire and pass on their wealth, including family businesses, to their successors, millennials and Gen Z. I'm here.
The previous generation may say they are ready to hand over the family business to the next generation, but are the recipients ready? Statistics show that about 70% of family businesses go bankrupt or are sold by the second generation, and only about 10% survive to the third generation, the founder's grandchildren. This is a major concern for businesspeople and therefore requires training and coaching to ensure that the next generation has sufficient capabilities to inherit the organization and enable an orderly transition.
Recognizing this critical need, Dr. Doug Gray, leadership consultant, executive coach, and founding president of Action Learning Associates, focuses on strengthening family business leaders by addressing both the family and business dimensions. I'm leaving it there.
Founded by Dr. Gray in 1997, Action Learning Associates provides a wide range of business consulting and coaching services to both groups and individuals. Dr. Gray said he began focusing on the family business several years ago because of the urgent need for Great Wealth Transfer. In fact, 65% of the U.S. gross domestic product is supported by privately owned companies, and only about 30% by publicly traded companies. MBA programs focus on publicly traded companies because most consulting programs have access to publicly traded data. Instead, we need to focus on leaders of privately held family businesses.
Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Gray has always focused on nurturing the next generation. Because we know that successful people are the product of teams, and that teams, not individuals, drive success.
As an avid athlete, Dr. Gray frequently participated in adventure races. Adventure racing is a sport in which a team travels through a wilderness course over the course of 10 days and includes activities such as climbing, mountain biking, trail running, and canoeing. He and his team completed every race they entered. This is an amazing result since he was only 30% of the team that completed the race. Dr. Gray has demonstrated his expertise as an athlete and philanthropist. These skills are applicable to any business, team, or organization.
In his twenties, Dr. Gray worked as a natural environment instructor for a major outdoor education organization. He developed leadership skills with groups of strangers that required him to excel in unfamiliar environments. He also worked as a teacher, athletic coach, and administrator at several independent prep schools. He directed a Next Generation program for hundreds of leaders at a nonprofit Quaker school.
“At this stage in my life, I was learning and relearning every day how to empower teachers and young people to develop their strengths, and I loved it,” says Dr. Gray. “My 10 years at an independent preparatory school were a great opportunity to learn how important it is for the next generation of leaders to know they can grow and develop.”
Dr. Gray also founded the Leadership Development Institute at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he taught for seven years, and was an adjunct faculty member at several universities.
Dr. Gray has worked with over 10,000 business leaders during his career. These leaders represent multiple sectors including healthcare, energy, manufacturing, IT, construction, and finance. He is able to work with such a wide range of leaders because he has the expertise to support them without overcomplicating industry-specific knowledge. He holds a master's degree in psychology from Dartmouth College and his Ph.D. He received his PhD in organizational leadership and industrial psychology from the Chicago School. His dissertation research focused on how to incorporate positive psychology coaching to help leaders grow and blossom.
“As a behavioral psychologist, I focus on what people say and do,” says Dr. Gray. “I learned that family businesses are more complex than any other type of business, so my model describes the complex relationships between five systems: the individual, family, business, learning, and ownership systems. There is nothing new in systems thinking, but its applications for family business leaders are and can reduce its complexity.”
Dr. Gray uses his professional and educational expertise to develop the next generation of family business leaders. He created his two valuable tools: Assess Next GenTM 360 Leadership Process. Helps family business leaders identify the most likely path to success as successors to family and non-family leaders. His Next Generation Peer Group Program promotes family business leaders who want to connect with like-minded leaders, reduce conflict, and increase communication using his Digital His Content platform and books. It is designed to.
“I'm very optimistic about people's ability to grow,” says Dr. Gray. He knows that everyone needs a competent and supportive team. he says: “I am a product of a team. Each of my clients has shaped who I am today. My family, my clients, my reading and research, all of that has been formative. We have focused on developing the next generation of leaders because they define the social fabric of every community and our future.”
Media contact:
Name: Dr. Doug Gray
Email: doug@action-learning.com
