Running a family-owned business can be challenging. Passing it on to the next generation can be difficult, too, as well as risky, given the high failure rate when succeeding generations take over.
But at Twin D in Utah, owner Dave Denny hopes to buck those statistical odds of failure by providing management training for his four sons, who will soon take ownership of the company when he retires later this year.
While Denny hopes the management philosophies he and his brother, Mark, instilled into the company over the years have rubbed off on his sons, he’s not taking any chances. Almost a year ago, he reached out to a company that provides management training so that his sons could go through a more formal process. Aaron, age 41, is currently the company’s business manager; Nate, 40, handles business operations; Stuart, 38, heads up sales and marketing; and Brayden, 36, is the company’s fleet and facilities manager.
“I wanted to improve their potential for success,” Denny explains. “The focus is on helping those four boys develop management skills.”
The management trainer sometimes meets with all four brothers at the same time. Other times the trainer does individual meetings to focus on developing specific leadership and managerial skills in each brother’s areas of expertise.
Denny also paved the way for their success by making them work their way up the corporate ladder.
“None of them were ‘golden children,’” he says. “They all had to learn the company from the ground up. I think that’s important because it sends a signal not only to them, but also to employees that just because Denny is their last name, it doesn’t mean they just walk in and become a boss. They had to earn their way into the industry.”
It helped that Denny’s sons naturally gravitated toward different areas of the company and now have clearly defined roles that don’t overlap, which reduces the potential for friction. And they’re all considered equals, Denny notes.
“They should be looked at equally, but differently,” he says. “One thing we’ve always told the boys is there’s no keeping score — one brother isn’t better or more important than the other. Everyone has their little facet of the company that contributes to its overall success.”
Denny says he’s excited to see where his sons take the company and expects to see them succeed because they all have the same strong work ethic that he and Mark brought to the table.
“They all give 100% all the time,” he says. “In fact, I tell them they work too much.”
Read more about Twin D in the June 2024 issue of Cleaner magazine.
