Since 2010, the Dental Summer at Timmendorfer Strand has developed from a continuing education event into one of the largest meeting points for young dentists in Germany. It was built up by Wilhelm Hakim, who today faces a challenge familiar to many entrepreneurs and to just as many practice owners: generational change. His son Chris is already firmly involved and is to take on responsibility step by step. In the episode “Wie übergibt man ein Lebenswerk?” of the podcast Queens & Sons of Dentistry, both describe how such a handover can succeed without the foundation of what has been achieved being lost.
Growing into the role rather than being pushed into it
Chris Hakim grew up with the event. His first memories of the Dental Summer go back to a time when he was seven or eight years old and would drop by the venue after tennis training. At the age of 15 or 16 he began to earn pocket money together with school friends: setting up rows of chairs in the morning and clearing them away again in the evening. For around three years he has seen himself as his father's “supporting arm” – no longer as a helper for the hotel, but involved in the processes of the event itself. He describes his role clearly: first and foremost listening and contributing his own ideas, while his father plays the leading part.
It is notable that the succession was never forced. Wilhelm Hakim always impressed upon both of his sons that they should first do what they themselves wanted – following the principle “nothing must, everything can”. Until Chris was 18 or 19, it was entirely open whether he would join the business at all; his older brother lives in Frankfurt and has taken a different professional path. Chris himself completes his training as a real estate management assistant this summer, continues to work in Hamburg and supports the family business alongside it – at weekends and after work.
Letting go is harder than building up
Asked what is more difficult – building up a company or handing over responsibility – Wilhelm Hakim answers in the podcast without hesitation: handing over. Building up almost happens by itself, because there is no escaping the responsibility anyway; the event is like a train that runs and rolls, and somehow there are always solutions. Handing over responsibility and no longer taking the decisions himself, by contrast, he finds considerably more difficult. Whoever lets go must at the same time accept that things run differently than expected – and, as he puts it, must in turn take responsibility for having handed over responsibility. At almost 62, he also observes that his professional environment is becoming younger and that business partners increasingly perceive his son as the future point of contact. For himself he envisages the role of an “honourable adviser” who can accompany the transition for several more years – and he emphasises how pleased he is for his son to be able to experience this build-up phase a second time.
Freedom with backing
Chris Hakim describes the expectations of a successful transition from the perspective of the younger generation: he needs freedom in his own areas, but at the same time the certainty that his father remains available. He speaks openly about the pressure to succeed that arises when a great deal has already been achieved and one wants to do it at least equally well. At the same time he sees the advantage of not having to repeat mistakes that were made in the past – he can simply ask what the solution looks like. The decision-making process today works in such a way that Chris proposes ideas, his father thinks them over and, in case of doubt, decides the way Chris would like. The final word, however, still lies with the father, not least because the network contacts that have grown over the years are his. The example of the company website shows what this looks like in everyday practice: from the father's point of view, the six-year-old site worked perfectly well; from the son's point of view, prospective customers were being lost through it. Now a new website is being created for several tens of thousands of euros, which Chris is allowed to design according to his own ideas.
Committed to the proven, open to the new
As a guiding principle for the generational change, Wilhelm Hakim cites a saying by which, in his own words, he lives: committed to the proven and open to the new. He himself is more strongly committed to the proven, Chris more strongly open to the new – and it is precisely this intersection that carries their collaboration. His image for it: a tree may be pruned and grow new branches, but the roots, the foundation, must remain. Chris advises those handing over to grant freedoms and not to give advice in a know-it-all manner; those taking over he advises to accept tips and not to believe that they can do everything better on their own – after all, what has been achieved shows what has already worked. Both attribute the fact that this attitude holds up to their close communication: often the answer is already there before the sentence has been finished. It is an experience which – as the basic idea of the podcast episode suggests – can be transferred to many dental practices in which a life's work is likewise to be passed on.