Decisions at the J.M. Huber Corporation are made with the long view in mind: How should the business evolve so it can succeed for another 136 years? How can a family with hundreds of members sustain its ownership of a $2.3 billion manufacturing company with operations in 20 countries? And how can the company use the natural resources required to make its products in a sustainable way?

Nearly 100 years ago, Pierre S. du Pont was concerned about the difficulties future du Ponts would face as a result of the fortune being generated by the young chemical giant of the same name.

Do your homework
• Determine your advisory needs. Do you require financial planning, estate planning and trust services? Will you need lending, insurance, philanthropic and tax planning advice? Do you want assistance with business governance and succession planning?

• Write down your expectations of your wealth adviser. Be able to clearly describe what you are seeking. Prepare an evaluation “scorecard” in advance and decide which will be the most important factors.

Instituting term or age limits for directors is a way to ensure you have the right board members to help your family business grow and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. Requiring directors to step down once they have served a predetermined number of terms or reached a certain age takes emotions out of the equation because the board members know in advance when they’ll need to step down.

In order for a family business to survive past the third generation, the extended family must resolve to put their personal interests aside and make decisions that are best for the business. The larger and more diverse the family grows, the more challenging it is to achieve that goal.