Family enterprises can be found in every corner of the Polish map of businesses. They include both large corporations with revenues reaching hundreds of millions, and small craft workshops, where the same family has worked for generations. They are production, building, service, commercial, IT or, just like ours, consulting companies. There are several hundred thousand such firms in Poland; hence, we give jobs to great many people and often determine the sustainable development of our local communities. We all share the same characteristics, such as the long-term approach to business, responsibility, individualism, and strong bonds inside a company. We are appreciated both by customers, employees, and other stakeholders. And we should take pride in that!

Due to our family foundations, we also have our unique problems. The questions of family succession, fund raising, or transferring private matters to business relationships, are familiar dilemmas in almost each and every family business. The broad range of such problems includes also professionalization, to which this report is dedicated.

Peter Drucker says that regardless of the number of ‘family’ members in the Management Board, at least one person should be an outsider. What does this rule look like in Polish family enterprises? Do we take advantage of external consulting? Can we plan professionally? Is there more strategy or intuition in our firms? You will find answers to those and many other questions in this report.