When I joined my family company a few years ago, fresh out of college, I was determined to work hard and prove my worth, but always had a “Don’t mess this up” post-it stuck at the back of my head.
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I am writing as the son of a successful father whose enormous shadow I have tried to wiggle out of for much of my professional life. I write this from a personal perspective of watching my first generation of wealth creators struggle to involve their next-gen in the family business.
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James Packer’s Crown Resorts considers $6.2 billion Blackstone bid, Next-gen hotel heir David Marriott to succeed father Bill Marriott, Grosvenor Estate appoints new family office head in management revamp.
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Each family is unique. A concerted effort to understand the complex dynamics which exist within each family, between spouses, siblings and the generations, is an essential first step for family advisers. Without this understanding, it is much more difficult to help a family deal with succession issues, especially in the context of a family business with members sitting on the board.
From the onset of the new millennium, business leaders have been increasingly interested in ‘purpose’—the idea that they might look beyond the profit motive alone to consider why the business exists and what purpose it serves.
A Canadian next-generation entrepreneur says more families are investing sustainably in forestry to achieve their impact goals and for the long-term inflation-proof returns of timber as an asset in their portfolios.
Most family fortunes were forged thanks to a founding entrepreneur and their successors who managed to uphold their legacy over the generations. The entrepreneurial tale of the founder is often passed down proudly from generation to generation. However, it is also common to see the successor generations concentrate so much on the core business that they sometimes lose the very entrepreneurial drive that gave rise to their family business in the first place.
The next generation of leaders have a vision for the future which is different to their parents and more strategic, says next-gen social entrepreneur Olga Vysokova.
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