[Column] How far into the future do you plan?

As I write this column for Into Business, it’s Prinsjesdag. With this issue’s theme of family businesses in mind, I wonder: do family businesses listen to the Speech from the Throne differently than other entrepreneurs? I think they do.

Just take politics, for example. I read in a poll that nearly 90 percent of business owners find politics unpredictable. That unpredictability makes investing unattractive. I understand that very well. Every year, a new tax bracket, new tax brackets, and tax deductions that disappear. Try building a five-year plan around that.

Family-owned businesses feel that uncertainty just as keenly. Yet I see that they deal with it differently. Not because the numbers affect them any less, but because they look at something else to determine whether things are going well. Of course, they recalculate as well, but when making a decision, a family business often asks: Who will come after me? Not out of sentimentality, but because there’s often literally someone from the next generation sitting at the table—a daughter, a nephew, a successor in the making. For them, the consequences extend beyond a single term in office. It’s not all about the short term; the future also plays a role today in the choices that must be made. That doesn’t necessarily make a decision better, but it does make it a bit more measured and well-considered.

Perhaps that’s a good starting point for all entrepreneurs: challenging yourself to look beyond the current administration. Giving yourself time to think about what needs to remain in place, regardless of who’s in power. That’s when you get to the core of your existence. Once you know that, you’ll also know which decisions will benefit you in five years—and which ones you’ll end up regretting.

So I’m curious: how far ahead do you plan?

This column appeared in the fallissue of Into Business. Be sure to read the previous column as well: