Investing In Harmony and Prosperity #succession

Growing your children’s independence is one of the best investments you can make to underpin the future prosperity and welfare of your family across generations.

Active Knowledge Question:

How are you investing in and growing the capability of your children to create fulfilled lives?

In multi-generational family businesses, there usually exists a greater awareness of and focus on building the next generation of business leaders. But creating a generation of family members who are independent is quite a different process. And I believe an equally, if not more, important task.

To underpin family harmony, unity and welfare requires an effort to ensure all family members have found a place for themselves within the family and in relation to its business. Not all family members may work in the business but all family members should be confident and content in the vocation they have built for themselves.

The key words in that statement are:

• Confident: Meaning that they have a pride in what they have and are doing with their lives.
• Content: Contentment does not mean to ‘lay back’ but rather it’s a gratitude for what they have achieved so far, and generally a desire to continue forward.
• Vocation: It reflects a life’s purpose; something they personally feel is worthwhile.
• Built: It was their choice and their work that got them where they are.

Think and reflect on what this means and you will realise that not many people today achieve these outcomes. And for those that do, their lives are rich and fulfilling. I am not sure if there is any parent who would not wish this for their children.

As you think about family business succession, think about the lives that you are trying to seed in your children and how you may best go about that. It starts very early in the child’s life and is seeded through your example and interactions with your children.