Episode 115: Understanding Family-Business Across the Cultural Spectrum with Masoud Golshani-Shirazi

Masoud Golshani-Shirazi is the founder and Managing Director of On Target Consultancy, a company that helps companies transform their structure and develop the right talent pool strategy. With an impressive background in organizational change, leadership, talent development, and HR strategy, Masoud also boasts the unique experience of having worked in 23 countries around the world. 

The scope of his industry experience is as varied as the countries that he’s worked in and includes telecom, retail, energy, manufacturing, fashion, restaurants, and banking. In these capacities, Masoud has also worked for large, privately-owned family businesses like the Butane Group out of Dubai and Alyasra Fashion in Kuwait. 

As a first-generation immigrant living in the UK, Masoud understands the value of hard work and the power of listening to different cultural perspectives. His global outlook has helped him operate across diverse locations and levels within organizations, including blue-chip companies. 

With a proven and consistent record of business results delivery, Masoud sees it as both his hobby and his job to help organizations minimize their risk while improving their sustainability and growth.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Masoud’s experience as a first-generation immigrant and how this affected his work ethic.
• Hear about Masoud’s corporate background and areas of expertise.
• Exploring the differences between different large family-run businesses.
• How the differences between people are greater than they are between cultures. 
• Why many business problems are consistent across the cultural spectrum.
• The challenge of adapting to another culture in order to apply the correct solutions. 
• Understanding where a family-run business sits in its lifecycle. 
• Difficulties in scaling a business and avoiding an ‘us and them’ scenario.
• Corporate versus family environments and how the owner’s family impacts business culture.
• Masoud shares his thoughts on what factors make for the strongest family-run business.
• Retaining non-family employees by involving them in decision-making processes. 
• Why there’s a difference between nepotism and supporting your community. 
• How younger generations can cause a company to stagnate.
• What it looks like for a founder to value their family brand over the money they make.
• How experiencing hardship and other cultures leads to maturity.
• Balancing an incredible family culture with more corporate systems of governance.
• Building roles for family members based on their interests and skill levels. 

Additional Resources:

Website: www.ontargetconsultancy.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/golshanim1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Golshanim

Links Mentioned:

Butane Group

Alyasra Fashion

Arcadia Group

Vodafone Group

Aujan Group Holding

Yaohan Company

Wadia Group

Heineken 

Sheikh Adel

Pepsi

Unilever

Merrill Lynch