It may seem morbid that reports of Paul Newman’s ill-health have prompted speculation about the future of his multi-million dollar food production group, Newman’s Own.

Yet, while one obviously prays that the actor and entrepreneur will recover to remain with us for many years, it is no bad thing to be forced to think in advance about the difficult issue of corporate succession.

Many successful businesses do not survive the passing or retirement of the entrepreneur who founded them. While this might be a tribute to his enterprise and energy, the fact that he allowed his organisation to remain too dependent on him as an individual is not a tribute to his management skills.

Where an otherwise strong business does not survive a change of generation, one or more of three factors is usually involved.

First, inheritance laws or estate taxes are often insane: they may effectively force the break up and sale of some of the most reliable employers and net contributors to the economy in their jurisdictions.

Second, the heirs of the entrepreneur may be unwilling or unable to assume the burdens of managing a complex business. The weak, inadequate son of a strong, self-made man is a literary cliché, but one which has many precedents in real business life.

Third, the entrepreneur may have failed to bring in a professional management team from outside and hand over to them in order to make the company truly autonomous and able to stand on its own two feet. Many entrepreneurs have a psychological block when it comes to handing over power in this way, but it is essential if both the entrepreneur and the enterprise are to move on and reach their full potential.