Who should be included in the next generation of ownership? Family only, or key employees too?

Ownership and leadership aren't the same thing, and conflating them is one of the most common mistakes in succession planning. A family member can hold meaningful ownership without being the person who runs daily operations.

Key employees who have spent years building real expertise in the business sometimes represent a more capable leadership path than a family member who hasn't shown the same interest or aptitude, even when that's an uncomfortable thing to admit.

The businesses that transition most successfully tend to separate these two questions explicitly: who owns the business, and who leads it, rather than assuming the answer to one automatically answers the other.