Monthly Archives: April 2019

04/20/19

Impermanence And Continuity

Construction on the Cathedral of Notre Dame was begun in 1163 and completed in 1345. Today, 856 years later, it stands in its home city the awesome result of 182 years of hard work, dedicated intent, inspiration, innovation and Gothic artistry of the finest quality. Last Monday, April 15, 2019, this center of devotion and indescribable beauty caught fire and underwent millions of dollars In damages.

It’s a tribute to its unquestionable and continued value that those millions of dollars for repairs have been pouring in. Albeit among controversy as to just how to accomplish the task, the cathedral will be restored.

Family businesses too can have long histories. They too have been built, over centuries, by devotion and dedication, innovation, inspiration, hard work, high standards and pride.

Japan’s Hotel Hoshi Ryokan is the world’s oldest family business. It was founded in 718 and is now, more than 1300 years later, under the management of its 46th generation of family members. The family’s watchwords: diligence, humility and resolve. https://www.ho-shi.co.jp/en

But is it permanent? Arguably nothing is. Paris’ historic cathedral will never again be exactly as it was on that day, centuries ago, when it was completed. Hoshi Ryokan has unquestionably undergone many changes to ensure continuity over the centuries—to keep up with the times; to add value that attracts today’s visitors. Change, whether accidental or intended, is perhaps the only constant.

Most family businesses are far from permanent. It’s an accepted fact that most do not last beyond their third generation. For them, that which built a monumental cathedral and a 46-generation business is missing.

Contemplating all this, I stopped to read Seth Godin’s blog entitled Impermanence. https://seths.blog/2019/04/impermanence/. With regard to whether the future will or will not turn out the way we hope it will, he offers the following:

“We have much less direct control over the future than we hope, and that it will always surprise us.”

“We can’t control the future, but we can bend it. And we can’t freeze the world as it is, but we can figure out how to be a part of it.”

To build a family business with a basis for continuity, one can take inspiration from those long-ago builders who intended a great cathedral; saw it standing complete after nearly two centuries of continued work; inspiration also from the Hoshi Ryokan family, whose values transcend time. Accept surprise, and intend your business to be part of the future, both permanent and impermanent.

04/5/19

Time For Letting Go

Sitting at my desk considering what to write for this newsletter I thumbed through the folder of clippings and notes I collect just for this purpose.

I came upon an op-ed piece that’s close to home for me in more ways than one. It was published in the August 5, 2012 edition of the Scranton Sunday Times; written by its publisher, Scott Lynett. I grew up in Scranton and went to school with the Lynetts. And while I’ve lived most of my life elsewhere, a strong family connection to Scranton continues.

What’s the second way this article’s close to home? It’s there in its title: Letting go vital to passing on bright torch. For me, as a professional family-business consultant, this op-ed piece presents a lexicon on how best to pass the business on to the next generation.

The Scranton Times is a family business that was founded in 1895 by Scott Lynett’s great-grandfather. The piece he wrote tells the story of the day his father followed his brothers into semi-retirement, stepping down from leadership and into part-time positions in the firm.

That day was fifteen years in the planning.

Most family-business leaders simply cannot let go, a factor that often leads to the demise of the business within three generations. The Scranton Times family is exceptional. Fifteen years in advance of their retirement, Scott’s father and his brothers hired a family-business consulting firm that specialized in intergenerational transition. They provided guidance for the road ahead.

Over the years many challenges were uncovered, many family meetings held; many difficult conversations. There were issues of management, ownership and governance structure to deal with. Rules and requirements for employment of future generations in the family business were collectively agreed to.

When the day came for Scott’s father to retire, the family was ready. They were all ready, and so was the business. And Scott’s generation is already deep in discussions about how to bring the fifth generation into the family business.

What was it that led Scott’s father and uncles to retire, and let go? In Scott’s words: “Ironically…dedication to the future of the business.”

Successful succession takes planning… optimally many years of planning. It takes that dedication to the future that Scott Lynett, The Scranton Times’ fourth-generation publisher, wrote about in his op-ed for circulation in his family’s own multigenerational publication.