Succession & The Family Home

Richard Shrapnel's Orienteering Succession blog

The family home is the hub in which the family grew and which holds many memories. Is it, however, a cornerstone for enduring family unity and growth?

Does Distance Really Equal Disconnection?

Parents generally like to have their children at home or at least close by. It’s a cultural but also an individual family and personal issue as to where you feel ‘at home’. For me, home is about people, and I associate it with feelings of comfort, familiarity, memories, safety, respite and feeling at peace. We should, however, acknowledge that for some people, the family home does not hold any of these positive aspects.

In many cultures, it is common that everyone lives in the family home and when, or if, they marry and have children, the family home simply expands to accommodate this growth. There are many variations to this model with homes having wings added, additional floors put in and, at times, total demolition and rebuilding to create multiple homes all in the one compound. In all these instances, the goal is to allow the growing family to live together in one location.

Other families will buy houses on the same street or within five minutes’ walking distance. And then you have those families who will spread throughout their home country and even the world.

As to whether your family approach is at one end of the scale or the other is your individual choice. That choice may rest in tradition, respect for your elders, or duty and obligation. Money can often be an influencing factor in these choices but care must be taken that money does not become the controlling influence that seeks compliance.

The question becomes one of, what are you seeking to achieve through the context of the ‘family home’? And how is that goal best achieved?

Beyond The Physical Notion Of ‘The Family Home’

Western influences and globalisation promote individuality and self-interest strongly. And therefore, keeping families together through physical co-location is being tested, and is also over time becoming more impractical.

Children will grow up and develop their own lives and, possibly a family. I believe it is important that parents ensure their children are capable, independent individuals who can stand on their own feet. That is a far more important legacy than providing a bucket of money.

The life your children experienced in the family home is likely to be an important influence on the people they have become. It is these experiences that will directly impact the future unity and growth of the family and any businesses it may seek to transition. While the physical home is part of and a symbol of that history, it is not necessarily an essential ingredient for its future.

Family unity is about relationships, connections, and love. How this is modelled in your family will have a far greater impact on enduring unity and growth than where everyone physically lives.

The ‘family home’ can exist wherever and whenever your family connects. Your choice of what the family home is represented by is critical to its success and longevity.


Active Knowledge Questions:

  • What does the family home mean in your family?
  • Is it about a physical location or about the bond that exists and is strengthened when your family connects?
  • Which is more important to you, co-location or connection?

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All the best in the success of your business,

Richard Shrapnel