Monthly Archives: February 2020

02/29/20

Envisioning Family Legacy

While consulting with the head of a family business, I frequently raise the subject of “legacy.” It comes up in connection with strategies for helping family-businesses move along the path of intergenerational transition; toward multi-generational success. Often however, at the mention of this word, I’m met with a sort of attention disconnect. For my client, the challenges of managing the business day-to-day overshadow any thoughts of building a legacy. It seems that this short-term focus creates a sort of mental cloud that diffuses any comprehension of what legacy is. This cloud cover affords no vision of the importance of legacy, or of its function or its range. It’s as though contemplating a legacy for future generations demands too much energy right now, and is seen as a luxury.

What is it about the idea of a legacy that’s so daunting? According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary the noun “legacy” means:

1: a gift by will especially of money or other personal property: BEQUEST// She left us a legacy of a million dollars.

2: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past[1]

This kind of disconnect is not unreasonable when legacy is perceived only according to these definitions. But in my experience legacy in family business is far less strictly defined. It’s much broader, and in many respects less tangible. It includes family history, values, stories and reputation. It reflects the family’s accomplishments and bears witness to its challenges. Legacy is the imprint left behind by previous generations for following generations to learn from and experience.

It’s said in family-business-advisory circles that legacy springs from seeds planted in a garden by earlier family members who, while they will never see the resulting fruit, provide for future generations. In that sense each family business’ legacy exists even before its birth.

It may be helpful then, for family-business leaders to understand that their task is not to create a legacy from scratch but rather to sustain the stories that inspire family members across generations, together with a shared set of attitudes, values, goals and behaviors that characterize their own particular family.

The result is a multi-generational culture of harmonious family relationships, shared wealth, ownership, meaning and purpose.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legacy

 

02/16/20

This Is What I Want

While teaching my class on Family Business Management at Baruch College in New York City, I’ve had the opportunity to draw a parallel to the well-known axiom related to real estate—location, location, location. When applied to family businesses, it’s communication, communication, communication.

Critical for any business as well as any relationship, in family businesses the mandate for communication is needed to address the challenges of business operations, ownership, family dynamics, family-business goals and shared values.

Lines of communication are often thought of with regard to these collective concerns. But there’s an aspect of communication in a family business that’s not commonly addressed, and yet, if neglected, can precipitate internal discord and even cause the business to ultimately fail.

In a recent interview with Tharawat Magazine, consultant and author Chris Yonker touches upon the necessity for individual family members to feel free to communicate, and pursue, their own interests and individual values:

“Yonker’s outlook pushes for the assignment of roles within the organisation or otherwise based on interest rather than obligation or expectation; to Chris, success is the alignment of purpose and place.”[1]

Pressure upon next-generation family members to join the business can be obvious, or subtle. They can be driven by a sense of duty; a feeling of indebtedness to the family history; parental expectations. Often they feel deeply inhibited with regard to saying what role they are genuinely interested in; what kind of future they want for themselves. According to Yonkers: “Those in line to take over must have the opportunity to speak up if their interests lie elsewhere and, in doing so, bring clarity to the question: who is most fit to lead?”[2]

The wrong person in the wrong job can create many kinds of problems, particularly when they are placed in a leadership position. They may be ineffective, causing confusion, conflicts on the job and among family members, and even loss of valuable employees and necessary talent.

It does no good and potentially great harm for the business or the family to force a young “heir apparent” into a role they are not interested in, or unfit to fill. Given the complexity of the issue and of family dynamics in general, uncovering these types of concerns may necessitate calling in a skilled family-business consultant.

[1] McCabe, M. (2019, October 15) The Path to a Harmonious Business. Tharawat Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.tharawat-magazine.com/sustain/yonker-harmony-family-business/#gs.cbp8bi

[2] Ibid.