In many family businesses, there’s an unspoken expectation that the next generation will carry on “just as things have always been done.” The founder’s story is powerful (a tale of sacrifice, grit, and triumph) and it becomes woven into the family identity. It’s understandable, then, that when the time comes to hand over leadership, founders hope to see themselves reflected in their successors.

But that expectation can become a trap. I call it the replication illusion, that is the belief that continuity depends on creating a carbon copy of what came before. In reality, this illusion limits growth, stifles creativity, and prevents the family business from adapting to new worlds, markets, and mindsets.

When Legacy Becomes Limitation

Cable laying in Carlisle 1952, the early days of the family business.

My own family’s story illustrates this. My grandfather was born the eldest of thirteen children in a remote village in County Mayo, Ireland. Life was hard; money was scarce; and as soon as he was old enough, he was sent to England to earn money to send home, a common story in rural Ireland at the time. With little formal education but immense determination, he and his brother Pincher began working for themselves, setting up a small contracting business.

He later married an English woman, settled in London, and raised a family (my father being the eldest). So, my father grew up in the capital during the Blitz, another defining experience. By the time he joined the family firm, he had a very different worldview from his father. Culturally, socially, even spiritually, their values were shaped by different environments.

A later era of engineering and innovation

And yet there were strong threads of continuity: both men saw opportunity where others saw obstacles; both were hardworking and ambitious. But my father was more of a risk-taker, more innovative, and more willing to modernise. Under his leadership, the business expanded dramatically.

Their story reflects a wider truth: each generation interprets enterprise differently. The founder’s hunger to survive becomes the next generation’s drive to scale, and the following generation’s pursuit of purpose and impact. The challenge is not to resist that evolution but to embrace it.

A Pattern Seen in Many Business Dynasties

This generational shift is visible across the world’s great family enterprises.

The Murdoch family, for example, has seen each generation recalibrate the empire’s focus (from print to digital to streaming) often amid tension.
The Guinness family transitioned from national brewing to global brand-building, with successive generations reimagining what stewardship meant in their era.
Even the Ford family’s story shows this cycle of replication and renewal. Henry Ford’s rigid control nearly crushed innovation, until later generations reintroduced experimentation and design thinking.

These examples show that evolution within legacy isn’t betrayal because essentially it’s renewal. The most resilient family businesses don’t cling to replication; they reinterpret tradition for new times.

From Copying to Evolving

Healthy succession happens when the founder’s story becomes a foundation, not a framework. The next generation’s role is to reinterpret, not replicate. They bring new education, global exposure, digital fluency, and social awareness. Those qualities that can renew the business’s relevance for the next era.

Families that succeed across generations are those that value diversity of thought. They view difference not as disloyalty but as evolution. They empower successors to question respectfully, to improve on what came before, and to make decisions grounded in shared values rather than identical behaviour.

Reframing the Role of the Founder

For founders, releasing the replication illusion begins with reframing their own purpose. Instead of aiming to create a “mini-me,” the founder can focus on mentorship, stewardship, and storytelling and so passing on principles rather than procedures.

It’s about teaching why certain decisions were made, not insisting they always be made the same way. This cultivates trust and prepares successors to lead confidently in uncertain times.

Letting the next generation “do it differently” doesn’t erase the founder’s legacy because it extends it.

Key Reflection Questions for Families

What core values define our business — and which operational habits are simply habits?
How can we preserve the founder’s vision without freezing it in time?
Does our succession planning encourage creativity or conformity?
Are successors empowered to make mistakes, or only to imitate?

Closing Thought

A legacy worth inheriting is one that allows room for growth. The greatest gift a founder can give is not a replica of themselves but the confidence, clarity, and freedom for the next generation to lead in their own way that’s grounded in shared values, but guided by a fresh perspective.

Why Successors Shouldn’t Be Mirrors of Their Founders