It is a very rare case where I come across a family business that have a formal business plan in parallel with a family plan. I can only think of two successful family businesses that have achieved a balance between the two.

Family business is all about emotion and they tend to focus internally and generally do not like change. Often there is friction at all levels of a family group. It could be father and son, father or mother and daughter, husband and wife, siblings against siblings, and then there is the in-laws. Mostly, in my experince, it's often the fault of the senior male of the family or business. This is especially the case in these times as the head of the group  is generally in  their sixties or seventies and will not let go or delegate to the next generation. Many times they are reffered to as A Benevolent Dictator and this is the catalyst for frustation taking hold in other family members.

I am speaking from hard experience here as this in exactly what happened in our family business back in the sixties. My father  would not let go of control and treated his family members in the business in a way that undervaued their professional training and ignored the value they could add to the business. I still see this in many family businesses today.

The objective of having a business plan needs no explanation, the research proves this every time. However, in a family business, it is smart thinking to also have a family plan that ensures the business plan and the family plan are  mutually supportive of the goals and objectives from both sides.

The benefit is that strategic thinking from the family and management teams leads to an agreement to a shared future vision.

The family needs must be supported by the business needs.