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Family Business Advisory · 10–12 Weeks
When the company and the family share the same room
Some of the most consequential conversations in a family business are the ones that have not happened yet. This engagement creates the conditions for them.
What This Engagement Delivers
Clarity where there has been ambiguity
Family businesses carry a particular kind of tension that ordinary management structures were not designed to address. The same person might be a parent, a shareholder, and a line manager at different moments in the same afternoon. This engagement works with that reality rather than around it.
At the end of ten to twelve weeks, the parties involved will have a written framework distinguishing ownership matters from operational ones — and a shared understanding of how future decisions will be made that does not depend on memory or goodwill to hold.
Duration
10–12 weeks
Investment
¥45,000
Format
Written output
The Situation You May Be In
The conversations that keep getting deferred
Roles that have grown without definition
A family member joined the business years ago, and their responsibilities have expanded organically. What they are actually accountable for, and to whom, has never been written down. Raising it now feels more complicated than it should.
Generational expectations that differ quietly
The next generation has different ideas about how the business should be run, but they are not quite expressed openly. The founding generation senses this without having named it. The distance between the two positions grows with each year that passes.
Decisions that mix family and business without separating them
A conversation that starts as a business discussion becomes something else. A family meeting resolves a business question that should have had a formal process. The two things are entangled in a way that creates uncertainty about who decides what.
Our Approach
Separate conversations, then a shared one
The engagement begins with individual conversations with each party involved. People speak more directly when they are not in the room with the other people they are describing. What emerges from those conversations shapes what is brought into the joint session that follows.
No one is asked to arrive at agreement in a first meeting. The work proceeds in stages, and the written framework that results from the engagement belongs to everyone who participated in making it.
Ownership vs. Operation
One of the most useful things this engagement produces is a document that clearly separates matters that belong to the family as owners from matters that belong to the people running the business day to day. These things are often mixed together, and separating them reduces a significant source of recurring conflict.
Employment on its own terms
Family members who work in the business have employment relationships that are complicated by their other relationship to the company. This engagement looks at whether those terms are documented clearly enough to be fair to everyone — and what to do if they are not.
A process for future decisions
The facilitated session at the end of the engagement is not a mediation. It is a structured conversation with a specific output: an agreed description of how the parties will make decisions together going forward, recorded in writing and available to consult.
How the Work Proceeds
Ten to twelve weeks, structured and paced
Weeks 1–2
Individual conversations
Separate, private conversations with each person involved. The questions asked are broad: how do you understand your role? What would you like to see change? What do you think the other parties believe? These conversations are not shared verbatim — they are used to identify the underlying questions the engagement needs to address.
Weeks 3–8
Framework development
A draft framework is prepared distinguishing ownership matters from operational ones, and describing the current state of employment arrangements and role definitions. This draft is shared with each party for review before any joint discussion takes place.
Weeks 9–12
Facilitated session and written conclusion
A facilitated session where the parties discuss the draft framework and agree on a final version. The written output that results from this session is yours to keep and consult. Our involvement closes when it is delivered.
Investment
¥45,000
For the full ten to twelve week engagement
This fee covers the complete engagement as described. There are no additional charges for the individual conversations, the draft framework, the facilitated session, or the written final output. Payment arrangements can be discussed at the outset.
If, following the initial conversation, it becomes clear that the engagement as structured does not suit your situation, we will say so before any fee is agreed.
What Is Included
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Separate, private conversations with each party involved in the engagement
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A written draft framework distinguishing ownership from operational matters
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Review of current employment terms and role definitions for family members in the business
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One facilitated session where the parties review and agree on the framework together
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Final written output: the agreed framework and a description of the decision-making process going forward
On payment
We are open to discussing how the fee is structured. A single payment or staged payments across the engagement — whichever suits the business — can be agreed before work begins and written into the scope document.
Why This Approach Works
The written framework outlasts the engagement
Verbal agreements in family businesses depend on everyone remembering the same thing. Written frameworks do not. They can be consulted when a question arises, shared with new family members entering the business, and revisited if circumstances change.
What to expect
Progress is measured by what is documented, not by how many conversations have taken place. By the end of the engagement, the parties involved will have a framework they participated in creating — one that reflects the actual situation rather than an ideal one.
Realistic expectations
This engagement does not resolve every tension in a family business. It addresses the ones that can be addressed through clarity of structure and documented agreement. Some things require time; others require legal advice. We will say plainly which is which.
Confidentiality
What is shared during individual conversations is treated carefully and not disclosed to other parties without permission. After the engagement closes, information that was shared with us is destroyed. We do not carry it forward or reference it in other contexts.
The timeline
Ten to twelve weeks is the typical range. Engagements with more parties or more complex situations take closer to twelve. The pace is also affected by how quickly the parties can meet for their individual conversations in the early stages.
Our Commitment
What we stand behind
We commit to delivering the work as scoped. If circumstances change during the engagement and what was agreed is no longer the right thing to be doing, we will say so and discuss with you how to proceed. We do not continue work that is no longer serving its purpose.
If, at any point in the first two weeks of the engagement, you feel that the work is not suited to your situation, we can close the engagement and discuss the fee on reasonable terms.
No-obligation initial conversation
The first conversation — the one where you describe the situation and we discuss whether this engagement might help — carries no obligation and no fee. It is an honest exchange to determine whether the work makes sense.
A scope you agree to in writing
Before any paid work begins, you will have a written description of what is being done, for whom, over what period, and at what fee. Nothing proceeds until that document is agreed by everyone involved.
How to Proceed
A straightforward path from here
If what you have read describes a situation you recognise, the next step is to write to us with a brief description of what you are working with. We will read it carefully and respond honestly about whether this engagement seems relevant.
Write to us
Use the contact form on the homepage, or write directly to info@vault-zonedrift.com. A brief description of the situation is enough — there is no questionnaire to complete.
Contact FormInitial conversation
We will arrange a conversation — by phone, in person in Kyoto, or by video — to discuss the situation in more detail. This conversation is without charge and without obligation.
Scope in writing
If the engagement seems like the right thing to do, we will prepare a written scope for your review. Work begins when the scope is agreed and signed by the relevant parties.
Family Business Advisory
The right time to address this is before it becomes more complicated
These situations do not simplify with time. A short description of what you are facing, sent to us in confidence, is all that is needed to begin.
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