A ‘family business’ is more than just a business owned and operated by a family. In addition to being a vehicle of wealth creation and entrepreneurship for the family, these businesses can bring other non-financial benefits – known as “socioemotional wealth” or “social capital” – to family members. Being part of the family enterprises brings feelings of pride, personal reward and satisfaction, and can constitute a part of family members’ identity. These additional intangibles are…
While I abhor the “generation wars” narrative that pops up regularly, the article below is about a novel – Boomer1 by Daniel Torday – that captures this generation wars zeitgeist, and tells the story of a frustrated millenial who takes his fight to the internet, complaining about boomers who refuse to retire and make jobs available to those of his generation. The article makes some great points about this ongoing debate, and postulates as to…
A common challenge for family businesses is when the rising generation have no interest in taking over. This can be especially common in sectors like manufacturing or farming which may be considered an attractive or exciting career path for younger family members to join. There are two concerns for the family members currently in control: (a) who will look after the business? (b) who will look after the customers? Both of these are important, because…
As a wealthy family, what is the most valuable thing you can give your children? One sure way to find out the answer is to ask (too often parents don’t bother). According to a Wells-Fargo survey of Millennials, more than 90% of children say they want to inherit their parents’ values, not their wealth. Some 84% want top sustain and build on their family’s legacy. This should be very heartening news for parents. In a…
Philanthropy can be a great way to engage different generations in a wealthy family, and for family members to find purpose where there is no imperative for paid employment. It’s worth keeping in mind the intergenerational differences and trends in giving so that the family giving experience can be as positive as possible. The Blackbaud Institute’s report on the next generation of American giving has some useful insights. Giving priorities differ by generations, but health,…
The essential problem family businesses must deal with is conflict of interest, which arises when people have multiple roles – in the business, as an owner, and as a family member – that can potentially conflict. Thinking about the issues of a family business in this way is a good path to mitigating the challenges they can bring. Establishing explicit rules is a good start, and this article covers several good ones: only put family…
The rising generation stands to inherit significant wealth, and families are spending much effort and expense to ensure that they are well prepared to become effective custodians of that wealth. However, it’s important for families to also consider the services required to help manage that wealth: advisors. In any family, at some point in time, the wealth will shift from one generation to another. When someone inherits wealth, it becomes ‘theirs’. This contrasts with advisor…
We’ve previously discussed the effect of increasing life expectancy on wealth transition – the ‘problem’ of the ageing family member who refuses to step aside is more prevalent than ever (the popular TV series Succession makes for great watching on this topic). Traditionally, roles within families have very long tenure, For someone who has been managing the family wealth for many years, the thought of leaving a job they have become very good at can…
Money is one of the few remaining taboo topics for discussion, but in wealthy families, it’s something that eventually does need to be discussed. The challenge is to develop a greater comfort in discussing it. The first step towards this is to understand the reason for discomfort, and it is usually because discussions about money bring on fear: fear that there isn’t or won’t be enough, that the next generation might be spoilt by excess,…
You might think conflict in family business is predominately around business performance. Wrong. At the core, it’s most commonly about the ‘people’ side of things: ineffective communication, and not recognising the different needs, interests & capability of family members. Evolutionary psychology tells us that we behave more altruistically toward the relatives with whom we share the greatest genetic overlap, and more with our maternal than paternal relatives. This means as the family group grows deeper…
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