Five Conversation Starters for Your Family’s Thanksgiving ‘Cousin Walk’
Picture this: At Thanksgiving gatherings across the country, a quiet ritual unfolds. Younger family members grab their coats, exchange knowing glances, and slip out the door for what’s become known as the “cousin walk.” This week the Wall Street Journal put a name to this longstanding multigenerational tradition. The term encompasses everything from literal walks […]
Sowing Seeds, Reaping Legacy
Invest in your family’s values, purpose, and generosity The Harvest Is Plentiful Driving across Indiana and Illinois to visit my mother this week, I saw combines and corn pickers busily gathering in the harvest. Despite drought in a few areas, we anticipate a bumper crop of grain this fall. It’s astonishing to contemplate how such […]
Mastering the Cycle of Endings and Beginnings
A simple 3-step process can help your family grow through change We are joyfully anticipating the arrival of our third grandchild any day now, in Arizona. And at the same time, we are concerned for my 95-year-old mother in Illinois, who has moved in with my brother and sister-in-law to receive care while recovering from […]
‘A Significant Opportunity’
Involve your rising gen in family philanthropy You’ve built a thriving business by spotting opportunities others miss. But there’s one sitting right in your family that 87% of affluent households overlook. Opportunity Recognition Entrepreneurs have a knack for recognizing opportunity. ‘A Significant Opportunity’ that Most Are Missing Because entrepreneurial families are so good at […]
Three Steps from Family Business to Family Enterprise
If you are 2-3 years out from the sale of a family business, autumn leaves hold a lesson for you. Take a “Color Tour” It’s mid-October, and we’re in peak season for color tours. I don’t remember hearing that term while growing up in Illinois. But I heard it soon after moving to Saginaw for […]
Adolescent Engagement with the Family Enterprise
Foster – don’t force – engagement There are many rewards and satisfactions of being successful in family business. But when an adolescent or young adult in a business-owning family is struggling, their parents are often deeply troubled about it. Since launching Family Business Facilitators we’ve become acquainted with several families in this very situation. […]
When Family Meetings Are Scary
It’s October, and Halloween is approaching like midnight footsteps in the hall. This post stirs a bubbling cauldron of family business fears, worries, and anxiety. Rising with the reeking vapors from the foul potion comes – oh no! The Family Meeting. By “family meeting,” we refer to anything from a half-day gathering to multiday family […]
Is a “Family of Affinity” Right for You?
Consider how you and your heirs will steward family wealth The leaves are turning, and stores are decorated with colorful displays promoting Trick or Treating. Many costumed goblins and princesses this Halloween will receive candy made by one of America’s most successful family businesses: Mars. The five generations of the Mars candy empire exemplify what’s […]
Clear Values, Strong Alignment
Aligning values and operations honors employees and improves business results Family businesses have a secret weapon that public companies can’t replicate: authentic values alignment. Yet most family enterprises leave this competitive advantage on the table, missing opportunities to fully engage employees and improve business results. Integrity Improves Employee Engagement and Retention When they are functioning […]
Three Family Business PAIN POINTS We Address
Relieving Suffering in the Family Business Behind the polished facades of successful family businesses lies a hidden reality: profound suffering that money cannot solve. To the uninitiated, it may seem ludicrous to speak of suffering in the family business. Because from the outside looking in, business families can seem like models of success, fulfillment, and […]