Peter is also part of a legacy family himself; he is a 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. Peter married into this family and was astounded by the welcoming and inclusive nature of his wife's large family. The family enterprise is now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Of particular interest are the Family Summits held annually, which are designed to re-engage family members, partake in family traditions and rituals, discuss philanthropy and reset for the year ahead.

Peter shares his experience of what it was like to join a well-established legacy family and how he has used this unique experience to pivot his career and help other legacy families flourish.

Standout Quotes:

• "We can't really plan significantly for longer than 5-10 years, you just learn that along the way, things change; the world changes" - [Peter]
• "I'm really interested in making sure that the family's values are aligned with their actions" - [Peter]
• "To have some sort of formal way of telling stories, I think, is critical" - [Peter]
• "The most important thing you'll do are these rituals" - [Peter]
• "If we have the privilege of having wealth and means, we have an obligation to give back" - [Peter]

Key Takeaways:

• Peter is the 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. He is an adviser, consultant, and speaker to legacy families, family offices, and multigenerational enterprises globally. He became a part of the family when he married his wife and was included.
• The company began as a group of lumber companies started by two brothers who liquidated everything after 45 years to invest with their partner, Friedrich Weyerhäuser in 1901. Peter's family had continued to be involved with the business as it expanded, although there were no male heirs in the second generation, till the 3rd generation. The family later started a private trust company in 1964, at which point they became the 3rd largest retailer of building materials in the US.
• Today with diversification, they are now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Peter's children are already involved with the family business actively and eagerly look forward to partaking in the annual family meetings.
• The Family Summit: This annual family meeting usually runs over 3-5 days, on the same weekend every year, with activities like the coming-of-age ritual and elders’ ritual, Olympic games, business meetings, philanthropy group meetings, and talks by guest speakers. The goal is to make it so interesting that people want to come back.
• Planning Never Stops; the family forms a long-range planning committee every 5 years to have a clean slate to think through everything. A pattern of liquidating a significant resource once every 20 years was also observed; this 'Generational Harvest' would provide liquidity to each shareholder, giving them the freedom to make their own investments.
• The family investments today are largely in Real Estate, like residence halls or low-income housing units, all intentionally inclined towards 'doing well by doing good' which is a value the family holds.
• Peter left his role as president of the family enterprise in 2003 and has since then helped other family enterprises manage their multigenerational interests. He believes families with vast amounts of capital can make decisions that affect millions of lives and works to ensure that these families act in accordance with their values. "I can hold a mirror up to you so that you can begin to see yourself, your family system, and your footprint in the world; the other thing I can do is open the window so that you can look out into the world and see how other families made choices during different transitions"
• Peter's most satisfying work is sitting with family members and watching the interactions; his work is focused on helping build bridges in communication and relationships. His role is a position between being a business consultant, priest, and therapist all of which require a deep level of trust and respect. At its core, his work is about relationships.
• Peter’s role as a 'Personne de confiance': This is a confidential advisor based on their trust, respect, and honesty. The way to get into that role is to come into the family that needs help, taking time to build trust and confidence. Very often Peter has to model a way of doing things like chairing a meeting, inclusion, and effective decision-making while keeping in mind that the goal is to pass on the mantle of leadership. Most of the time, the G2 generation is the one that reaches out to him, however, in some cases when the patriarchs are comfortable giving up authority, this spurs the G2 to take up the mantle and learn how to hand over to G3. Sometimes, the G2 has even already made the transition in their lifetime, adapting to the values and culture while the G3 grows up having a completely different experience.
• Storytelling is critical in documenting family history. Peter uses this both in his family enterprise and while working with others. His family works with a full-time archivist who helps research the lives of people such that detailed questions can be asked and stories can be told more deeply. It also offers an opportunity to share lessons from the failures, trials, and tribulations of family members.
• While still active in his family he was always open to learning from other families and when he left his role, he wanted to be involved in creating the consciousness in families that they can impact the world. Based on Peter's background, he has the experience which gets him into those family spaces after which he starts work.
• From Peter's experience, when it comes to cultural mindsets like having female leaders, and diversity, there is a lot more openness in the US than in most other places. Although he tries to encourage such views, some cultures are just not ready for it. However, families of significant or multigenerational wealth are naturally global these days, hence it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid influence from other cultures.
• Family Rituals are the most important way to bring the family together continuously over the years because they help young people feel acknowledged. Peter's family has a children's program packed with several activities that keep them eager to return. After the age of 14, they can start going to business meetings. These activities help the family familiarize themselves with teenagers and create a more welcoming environment in the business meetings.
• It is necessary to identify who is family and the kinds of roles available to different members. Each family does this differently, but Peter's family has selected the option of Inclusion.
• Building Family Governance starts with having a reliable cadence of meetings quarterly, as well as major annual gatherings; this goes hand and hand with excellent communication. The next step would be to memorialize family values and have a direction and then this can be the foundation of a constitution. The constitution is a living document and should be examined and changed as required.
• Peter also uses the concept of the "5 Capitals" within his family and the families he works with.
• Philanthropy is another tool Peter has been familiar with. It is fun to watch families come together to figure out ways to give back based on their different interests and drives.
• Very often, families look at their business as heirlooms which begs the question "Is the business an heirloom or an investment?" Sometimes it is hard to sell a business because it's been our identity for years; thus, selling is easy if the business is only an investment but if it functions as an heirloom then it may not be advisable. In some situations, the business is on the spectrum in-between, which means only certain objects or aspects may be more valued as an heirloom. Mike's family takes pictures yearly on the same spot on a piece of land which over time has taken up the role of an heirloom too.
• From Peter to his children: "This is your life, do what you love and do it often. If you don't like something, change it; if you don't like your job, move on. If you don't have enough time, stop watching TV. If you're looking for the love of your life, stop, they'll be waiting for you when you start doing the things you love. Stop overanalyzing; life is simple. All emotions are beautiful, when you eat, appreciate every last bite. Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things and people; we are united in our differences. Ask the next person you see what their passion is, and share your inspiring dream with them. Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself. Some opportunities only come once so seize them. Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating. Life is short, live your dream and share your passion."

Episode Timeline:

• [00:52] About today's guest, Peter Evans.
• [02:44] Peter shares his family history.
• [07:10] What makes your annual family meetings appealing to the younger generation?
• [12:28] Does a value system guide the investment making decisions?
• [14:00] Peter's work helping other family enterprises.
• [18:40] Peters role as a 'Personne de confiance'.
• [24:22] Family Storytelling as a tool in Peter's work with family enterprises.
• [29:08] Was it your experience with your own family that led you to work with other families?
• [31:39] What are some of the differences in culture that showed up during your work with different families across the world?
• [34:50] How important is it to have traditions that bring the family together?
• [38:41] Who is a Family member?
• [39:17] Building blocks of Family Governance.
• [44:10] Philanthropy in the family enterprise.
• [46:16] How shared experiences come into family meetings.
• [48:14] What is the role of Heirlooms in the family enterprise?
• [50:47] Peter's letter to his kids.

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Special Guest: Peter Evans.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Laird Norton Company — Laird Norton Company is a family-owned enterprise that provides long-term capital and resources to empower companies to thrive—and we’ve been doing it for seven generations.
• Peter Evans | LinkedIn

Standout Quotes:

• "The process of how you manage a company is not taught anywhere; the process for how you manage people is not taught anywhere so these are things you need to learn by watching" - [Srinath]
• "Unless all of us are good human beings, we cannot work in a group" - [Srinath]
• "If the family is not in one piece... the businesses are going to fall apart" - [Srinath]
• "I don't worry about control, I worry about what's best for the business" - [Srinath]

Key Takeaways:

• Srinath is a 4th generation member of the TVS and Sons Family. He talks about a historic date when the family will finally be breaking up the company and separating after 111 years. Unlike many families which split with resentment and animosity, this breakup is rather amicable which sets the stage for growth in the next phase.
• The seeds for the separation started in 1974, although from the onset, at a point when the Founder of the company had his influence waning as a patriarch, there was already a lot of mistrust. It was in 1974 that it became clear that there was no future for the company to continue as one large family which is now manifesting.
• Over the 48 years since the first conversation was had about splitting up, the company has lost opportunities to advance in IT, however, they were able to structure the core competence of the existing companies.
• The first phase was in 1927 when the company became the dealer for GM in South India. The next phase was automotive component manufacturing which continues to be the most profitable aspect of the business. The third phase is a two-wheeler operation, which is the largest and most valuable company. Most recently, the supply chain has also been racked up, which is the TVS Supply Chain.
  
• About the two-wheeler operation: in 1972, as a young teenager, Srinath had discovered what looked like an electric bicycle which his grand-uncle was creating as a cheap way for people to move around. The engineers had said it would not be possible, but he invested energy, time, and money in it based on his conviction. By 1978, he passed on 10 days before the company was opened. The group was also into all sorts of automotive industries.
• The strategy for the separation was that whoever is managing will continue to look after business till the separation, then the valuation was done in 2014, and the difference would be settled in cash. The Indian legal system encourages families to have such a business understanding, which was not initially accepted by all 64 shareholders but with persuasion, they agreed to implement it. The company also has very strict requirements regarding competence and experience to join in the business such that family members are not guaranteed an automatic seat.
• Some of these requirements for joining the family business include Graduation from an Ivy League school, a minimum of 3 years of work experience outside the family business with no help getting the job. These and more only qualify members to apply, after which a competency board will assign a mentor who looks after the possible future leaders, and then they can grow from there. These new family members entering into the business start with a small responsibility like one of the smaller subsidiaries and are mandated to only report to a professional, not their parents.
• Based on these requirements, most family members are only qualified to apply by their early 30s, which is beneficial for the company because emotional maturity is also critical.
• Although G4 wasn't particularly groomed for management, they intend to identify those things they lacked and make them available for G5. Since the process of managing companies or people is not taught anywhere, G5 has to be properly introduced by participating as observers in top review meetings. Most of the methods and practices being implemented to groom G5 are ideas from John Ward.
• Even though many families apply all sorts of family governance structures, not many are successful, meaning those structures do not guarantee anything. The question is "How do you make this work?". The first requirement is trust; without trust, none of these things can work. Next is transparency, and the third is to be Just and Fair. People working together must be good people who like being around each other. Additionally, fairness, compassion, and carrying people along, have been more efficient than any of these structures.
• To address the issue of power grabbing in the 60s, a change in the business system was made such that no decision can be made without the unanimous consent of the members present. It protected the person managing the subsidiary such that they could not be fired easily but the bureaucracy at the same time restricted opportunities for risk and growth. Hence the success of the group depended on the competence and ambition of the people running each company. However, while the trust was lost and growth was delayed, the companies held on better to funds for reinvestment which promoted overall growth. This however created problems and resentment from the shareholders.
• When John Ward came along, he increased the dividends to the non-working shareholders from 10 to 25%. Dividend taxes were also removed from the income. His approach was to make the family happy knowing that most of their problems could be addressed with cash. Some of the dividends were also used to take care of the educational needs of non-working shareholders.
• The family has about 80 shareholders, and after the break-up, things will fragment, and there will not be the usual large family get-togethers. Nonetheless, there will still be some rearrangement because some of these small businesses will come together to work to be more efficient. The strength of emotional bonds will also determine the interaction between these subsidiaries in the future.
  
• Unlike the previous structure of the large family where there was no exit clause, Srinath's family business will have one for the shareholders. The company will also take advantage of the newfound freedom from the bureaucracy of unanimous decisions, to take risks and opportunities to grow.
• In Srinath's family enterprise now, G4 members are only allowed to pass the shares to the linear descendants. Spouses, sons-in-law, and other members cannot enter the family business. This doesn't necessarily guarantee any birthright for the G5; some G4 members have donated all their shares to charity. The G5 is guaranteed to get no more than a decent standard of living and good education.
• When it comes to lineage, no differentiation is made between sons and daughters, it is simply a factor of competence. TVS has a balance between business and compassion, rather than overly tilting in any direction.
• Unfortunately, the larger family has never compiled books, photographs, or formally tried to document the family history; this has been a huge disappointment. However, Srinath's uncles tell him not to worry about the past, but to focus on what he can now do in the future.
• The logistics business was a brainchild of Srinath's cousin, Danesh, and started 10 years ago. The business supplies anything anywhere and unlike FedEx, they can design something and assemble it at the destination. The Rajam family only is entitled to the IPO; they are buying out the shareholding of everyone else.
• One of the most important things to imbibe is to be fair and just, whether at work or in personal relationships. It goes a long way to make people trust you and builds the energy of people around you.
• From Srinath to his children: Firstly, be fair and just, be a good person. Secondly, you must add value to the community; do not chase wealth, chase the creation of jobs. Be a positive person always.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:50] Meet today's guest, Srinath Rajam.
• [02:33] What led to this amicable speciation agreement?
• [05:54] What are the main pillars that have made up the conglomerate over the last 100 years?
• [08:02] About the two-wheeler operation.
• [13:50] How have you decided where and how to draw the lines in separating this conglomerate?
• [16:42] What are the requirements for family members to join the business?
• [19:56] Are there comparisons between the success or failure of G4 and that of G5?
• [21:30] Where did the inspiration for this approach towards onboarding come from?
• [23:30] What formal family governance structures do you have in place?
• [26:32] What method hasn't worked well in keeping the family together?
• [34:00] How big was the wider family assembly?
• [37:50] After the split up, will you carry on the current family structures to your Family Enterprise?
• [40:38] How do succession and shareholding occur in your new family enterprise?
• [42:40] How do you view lineage in terms of sons and daughters?
• [45:51] After the separation, how does the thread of family history and storytelling continue?
• [49:22] Discussing the family logistics business.
• [54:40] From Srinath to his children.

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Special Guest: Srinath Rajam.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• kwikpatch.com | India — Srinath Rajam is the Chairman and CEO of Kwik Patch (a JV with MYERS Industries, USA) and Director in TVS Mobility .

His drive to always remain curious, desire to connect with and learn from others led Chris to start his podcast, The FORT. In the FORT, Chris talks with leaders of businesses across real estate and a variety of industries and dives deep into ideas and topics that are not regularly discussed. Chris covers each guest's story and explores in detail the critical moments that led to success, failure, growth, and confidence. He has successfully published over 200 podcast episodes.

Standout Quotes:

• "You only are going to be on this earth one time, you really are not coming back again after the first time; let's make the most of it" - [Chris]
• "Everything that you were mad at your parents for when you were a kid, is everything you respect them for when you're an adult" - [Chris]
• "Money never mattered to my dad, being content and serving others did" - [Chris]
• "I think it's a very special thing in life to really want to be good at something" - [Chris]
• "If you're a parent and you actually can't give your kids the things they want, it makes it almost easy; what's tough is when you can give them what they want and you choose not to" - [Chris]
• "How can you expect someone that grew up with everything easy and given to them, to ever have that burning desire" - [Chris]
• "Kids don't learn by words, they learn by actions, so I can say everything I want to my kids but they're going to be watching what I'm doing" - [Chris]
• "You don't keep families together, particularly with the amplification of wealth, if you're not intentionally practicing the values" - [Mike]
• "We're living in a really cool generation where I think we're going to be able to tell our stories to our kids like nobody's been ever been able to do it before" - [Chris]
• "There's just very few people that matter in this world that you remember because of how much money they had, it's really about what they did… you will be defined by how much people remember you" - [Chris]
• "The majority of businesses that do really well hit singles and doubles over and over"
• "When's enough enough?... it depends on how big of an impact you want to have" - [Chris]
• The first great business decision you're going to make is who you marry" - [Warren Buffet, Chris]
• "There's things in life that are either giving us energy or taking away energy" - [Chris]

Key Takeaways:

• Chris Powers is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Fort Capital. He is also the host of the podcast, "The FORT", as well as a serial entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in Real Estate Development and Investment Experience. Chris is a first-generation entrepreneur with stories that shaped him down to his relationship with his children.
• Chris's dad was a lawyer who valued education, however, after 13 years of being a lawyer, He decided to become a doctor. With two kids and a wife at home, He left law and started medical school at the age of 39 which took place over 8 years with a financial toll on the family. The experience during those years created the foundation for the impression Chris has about money, feeling fortunate to have been more deprived of things than his peers. Chris also learned the importance of doing things in life that give fulfillment.
• Because of the experience of not having money over those years, Chris became an entrepreneur at a young age to get the money he needed. However, Chris has a fear that his success allows him to skip the chances to deprive his kids of the things they should be deprived of.
• Following the passing of his dad, Chris witnessed a turnout at the funeral and stories that depicted the level of impact people felt while his dad was alive. Although it was a traumatic unexpected event, Chris felt equipped at the time to take the reins in the family because his father had trusted him very early on to do things. This taught Chris that there's a level of transparency that is healthy with children, for them to start learning early on how the family operates.
• "If you study people who are extremely successful in life endeavors, there is a common thread among them where they were in a position to really want something while growing up". This has made Chris understand that it is hard but necessary to deprive kids of certain things even when they can be gotten. He is trying to teach his kids not to be overly reliant on his wealth but to forge their path. Additionally, having the nature to treat people very well even from childhood is a good foundation to build on.
• Raising great children amidst wealth is a challenge, and the importance of transparency cannot be overemphasised, especially when it comes to treating people well, or other issues affecting family values. This is important to note because kids learn by watching the actions of their parents, hence the teaching values has to be transparently done through actions. This transparency also translates to work, as Chris tries to make his work fun and appealing to his kids rather than intimidating.
• Chris has been very intentional about leaving content for his children to learn from, especially in recordings and this is one of the motivations for his podcast, "The FORT".
• Currently, Chris is working to create intentional family traditions that build the family experience. The first of these is an annual talk recorded and kept to give the kids later in life.
• Starting Fort Capital: While in school, Chris wasn't particularly trying to make a lot of money but came across someone in Real Estate who helped him learn and start Real Estate deals which resulted in his company "Fort Capital". It is a Real Estate private equity company based in Fort Worth Texas. It is focused on buying Class B industrial and multi-tenant properties, functioning as value-add buyers. As time goes by the desire to sell lessens because there have been great liquidity events from sales and holding cash from sales isn't very impactful anymore. This is beneficial especially for newcomers because Real Estate is a great tax tool.
• It is easy to get overwhelmed by other companies that seem to be doing immensely well, and be tempted to keep taking high chances. However, the majority of businesses succeed by surviving and growing incrementally.
• To be an entrepreneur you need someone supportive even when things aren't so great. Chris recalls how selfless his mum must have been to be supportive of his father's unexpected decision to study medicine. This played a major role in the success of his dad just like his wife plays to get him to where he is today.
• Concerning his view on generational wealth, Chris believes the easy route for a lot of folks with money is to let their kids assume that it's all going to be theirs, as soon as they believe it, whether it's true or not it can alter their lives. He is yet to decide on what he will leave for his kids but currently focuses on shaping their mindset on money. "I want my kids to have something but I want them to earn it and I don't want them to live a life dependent on it; not because I think it would be bad for them to have money but I think it would rob them the joy of living a fulfilled life"
• From Chris to his kids: The way they will be judged when they leave earth is by the impact they've had on others. For them to live a fulfilled life, they need to think each day, "if it was all over tomorrow, what did I leave the world"? An exercise for listeners concerning this is "If you were at your 80th birthday party, write down what you would expect people you care about to say to you". You've got one shot, make it count.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Introducing today's guest, Chris Powers.
• [02:25] Chris describes inspiring life lessons from his dad.
  
• [12:24] How did you deal with the loss of your father?
• [16:30] How do you create balance with depriving your kids of some things for them to learn key values?
• [28:45] Are you being intentional about creating lessons for your kids to come across one day?
• [33:39] Do you have any intentional family traditions to build rituals around the family experience?
• [35:50] Chris shares his journey to success in his business.
• [45:33] Was there a breakthrough point where you knew you could breathe?
• [48:58] What did you learn from your mother and wife in the role they play to support the family?
• [53:04] Have you started to think about Generational wealth?
• [55:53] A letter from Chris to his kids

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Chris Powers.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Chris Powers — As an undergraduate, Chris Powers started buying rental properties and leasing them to fellow Texas Christian University students under the banner Powers Acquisitions LLC. Powers put down roots in Fort Worth after graduating in 2008, and rebranded his real estate endeavors to Fort Capital in 2012. Today, the company’s portfolio boasts 1.5 million square feet and $220 million in assets, and includes industrial, multifamily, and urban properties across Texas. Throughout the day, Powers’ passion for Fort Worth is clear from meetings with business leaders to talks with his own team members.
• Fort capital — Established in 2005, Fort Capital is a forward-thinking investment firm with a focus on real estate and private businesses. They look beyond the usual, and while we seek to provide our investors with superior financial results - their greatest returns are improved lives. Their team is their competitive advantage as they seek meaningful work and relationships.
• ‎The FORT with Chris Powers on Apple Podcasts — The podcasts are the Conversations with leaders in real estate & business. They cover the stories often not publicly discussed.

As his career has evolved, he has developed a true passion for governance and operations. One of his current focuses is the codification and institutionalization of the key elements that differentiate his family’s enterprise. At its core, this speaks to their desire to remain a purpose driven enterprise focused on the preservation of their servant heart culture for generations to come. This spans the continuum of the impact that they have on their associates, their clients, and the communities that they serve overlayed by a holistic approach which incorporates environmental, social, and governance considerations.

In addition, his passion for governance and operations has evolved beyond that of traditional corporate. For the better part of the last decade, he has led their family’s formalized family governance efforts. As they continue the transition from the 4th to the 5th generation, it was paramount to Anthony, and his generation, that they build the requisite operational and governance structures to ensure success in succession not just for their generation but for generations to come. With the collective support of the 4th and 5th generations, He has allocated a considerable amount of my time establishing their family office and formalized governance structure and framework.

Although he feels blessed to be able to serve his family and family enterprise in a variety of roles, the role he is most proud of is that of a devoted husband and loving father. He is married to his best friend and soulmate, Melissa Contrucci (nee Schrage) and has been blessed with two loving children.

Standout Quotes:

• "I really believe our success as a family kind of exists at the crossroad of this desire to be civically involved" - [Anthony]
• "That formula of putting people before profit is how you build long term sustainable value that transcends generations" - [Anthony]
• "In order to be successful in succession, you have to be intentional and you have to be strategic" - [Anthony]
• "If you think about the destination, you'll never start the journey" - [Anthony]
• "If you're trying to solve a problem that you can solve during your lifetime, you're thinking too small" - [Anthony]
• "Success requires action" - [Anthony]
• "You can't appreciate something if you don't know how hard it was to have or you didn't have to work for it" - [Anthony]
• "During times of dislocation, there's always opportunity" - [Anthony]
• "The most important investment I've ever made is my time in my children" - [Anthony]
• "Never try to replace your net worth for your self-worth" - [Anthony]

Key Takeaways:

• Anthony is a 5th generation member of the Schrage family currently serving in the role of President and Board Director of First Bank Shares, a bank holding company with a primary operating asset "Centier Bank" which was founded in 1895. They are now the largest private family-owned bank in the state of Indiana.
• The Schrage family came over from Germany into the US in the 1800s, and over time the family has always been passionate about the community. This alongside the risk tolerance accounted for the success of the family because being involved with the community helped identify needs and create solutions. The name "Centier" Bank was coined intentionally to represent a century of service, the founding of the bank on Center Street, and that the bank strives to be the premier provider of financial services for the communities. The headquarter is in Merriville Indiana.
• Despite the pandemic, banking is a good business to be in right now. Data from the bank shows that Centier Bank tends to outperform during times of market dislocation or pain. Clients are put even before the shareholders in the business, and this is how long-term sustainable value is built over generations. 2020 has been the best year financially in the history of the bank.
• This success was achieved by consciously and emphatically considering the safety of clients and workers physically while also keeping them confident about their finances. They set out to help communities through different programs, mortgages, credits, and low-interest loans.
• Anthony met his wife and her family at the age of 20 and she was his best friend before becoming his wife. Anthony had no intention of working in the family business but wanted to chart his course in life. He had always been in the financial sector, including commercial banking and investment. Later he started with wealth management in the family business, and then the investment services division. After a while strategic intentional steps were taken to ensure an impact in the community. Currently, Anthony spends time in the financial holding company level, family governance, and the family office.
• Although the family has grown since the first generation, there are 27 family members and 16 shareholders. There is a family assembly every year, and also a family governance structure.
• The goal of the family assembly is both business and to bring the family members closer together. One of the main reasons for starting the family assembly was communication flow. Success and succession in a family business is literally the equivalent of fighting gravity; only about a third of family businesses make it from generation to generation.
• As a broader family, the family meets monthly with specific agendas and occasionally invites subject matter experts. There is also a family business consultant and a family psychologist as well as other subcommittees. There are G5 monthly check-ins with no formal agenda.
• About the Family Portal: While trying to organize family documents that have piled up over many years and made work inefficient, Anthony came up with the idea of the Family Portal. This has been a great tool for increasing efficiency and improving workflow.
• When it comes to starting Family Governance, "you've got to go slow to go fast". Even it is a small start, it's about building the behavior; for Anthony's family, the starting point was about Mission, Vision, and Values. This is where to start to build a foundation with simple things like a code of conduct or attendance policy. It gives some wins and then these goals can be dialed up to more complicated plans.
• The Emergency Transition Planning (ETP): This refers to very detailed planning done such that in the event of the demise of a leader, things can be set in motion to instill confidence in multiple audiences across multiple mediums. It's a succession plan on steroids.
• The family psychologist has been very valuable especially in helping family members communicate effectively. This also includes constructive conflict, which is the most important thing in communication and trust-building. Additionally, having a facilitator around when the family constitution was created was very helpful. However, the values or by-products of this exercise are less important than the journey. Families are encouraged to start this process and take their time.
• After attending a family business conference where he was introduced to the concept of a Family Book, Anthony applied it in documenting the family history to ensure that future generations would understand how hard the journey was. While collating different materials to create the family book, an enormous collection was accumulated and Anthony had the idea to get a corporate historian to manage the collection. This brought the next idea to have a "Centier Museum" for these family artifacts.
• Using the idea of cohesion dynamics which include the family aspect, as well as the business, financial and emotional aspects, Anthony understood that it was paramount to use the family history to keep family members emotionally tethered to the family business. This determines the filter they would use in making decisions regarding the family business because rather than simply thinking like investors, they would think like stewards if they felt emotionally tethered to the family enterprise.
• The 6th generation is currently between the ages of 8-18years. For a long time, the family legacy was the bank, but now there's so much more opportunity for the G6 to get involved with the family enterprise and create an impact.
• Advice for someone looking to lay the foundation for a Family Enterprise: Slow down; "you have to be patient and focus". The other thing is to save; "live below your means and always have reserves because having that additional financial capacity allows you to be opportunistic".
  
• There has had to be a shift from being a family that operates a business to a family that has an enterprise. "We had the belief for so long that the legacy was the bank but now I believe that the legacy is the culture that fuels the enterprise" Thinking about it this way gives the motivation to lean into Family Governance and Family Office. It also shifts the mindset from being competitive to being more collaborative. All of this takes curiosity, communication, working through conflict, and never being afraid to fail, knowing that growth comes from failure.
• Anthony's letter to his kids: Happiness comes from the important things in life; love, health, the time spent, and experiences created with loved ones. True fulfillment comes from finding something you're extremely passionate about, that is meaningful but extremely hard; if you don't grind, demonstrate grit, fail, and pick yourself up, you will never find fulfillment and self-actualize. If you always lean into what's important in life and push yourself, you'll find that fulfillment.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:50] Introducing today's guest, Anthony R Contrucci.
• [02:05] The history of Anthony's family business.
• [08:20] How is the banking industry right now?
• [12:16] Anthony's entrance into the family and the family business.
• [17:40] The structure of the family enterprise.
• [29:28] How has your governance structure taken shape since its implementation?
• [37:55] Where did you start in terms of Family Governance?
• [41:34] The Emergency Transition Planning (ETP).
• [45:00] Discussing the role of the family psychologist.
• [48:30] How did the family constitution come to be?
• [51:14] About the Family structures put in place to guard the family history.
• [57:54] With regards to the 6th generation, how do you look to the future of the family enterprise?
• [01:00:21] What advice would you give to someone looking to lay the early foundation of a Family Enterprise?
• [01:05:08] Is there a new habit you've adopted that was meaningful to your journey?
• [01:09:16] Anthony's letter to his kids.

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Special Guest: Anthony R Contrucci.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Centier Bank - A Family-Owned Indiana Bank Since 1895. — Michael E. Schrage, CEO and Chairman of Centier Bank
• How Centier Bank celebrated its 125th anniversary

Standout Quotes:

• "Unless someone's livelihood and their family’s livelihood depends on what you're doing, you're not an entrepreneur" - [Joe]
• "Unfortunately, the US gets a reputation for not caring for our elderly the way a lot of other countries care for their elderly" - [Joe]
• "If you want your family interacting with you in the US, I would recommend having daughters or making sure that you're close with your daughters-in-law" - [Joe]
• "No one really cares what you have to say, it's your actions and your consistency" - [Joe]

Key Takeaways:

• Joe Pohlen is the owner and Partner at Cardinal Senior Management, an operator of assisted living communities in the U.S. with a specialty in affordable assisted living.
• Joe started his career in Student Housing which was doing well but he wondered if that was his purpose in life. Knowing a few people who were working in assisted living and doing well, Joe started to figure out how to get into this field with his partner, Chuck. He started his journey and grew successfully.
• Joe manages assisted living facilities where inhabitants pay ahead covering housing, activities, and care; the big challenge, however, is that more seniors lack the financial resources to move into the facility. The solution to this would have to involve the federal government. For families who cannot afford the cost, they would first be moved in with a roommate, and Medicaid will be involved to pay a lower price to help retain the care of the elderly. There are plans to implement other strategies to help improve the care for the elderly especially for those who do not have the financial capacity required.
  
• The majority of decisions in a family are made by the oldest daughter and also most visits are usually from daughters, hence it pays to build good relationships with the daughters to encourage visits from the families.
• Families also need to have conversations about steps to be taken to address issues related to the welfare of the elderly in different scenarios. People move into assisted living for two reasons, one is that they decide it's the right thing for them, and the second is when they lack a choice in the matter because the decision has been made for them. Those who decide on their own have a more successful experience.
• Joe and his wife had previously decided not to have a kid but they changed their decision in the lockdown, deciding to adopt a kid who they were strongly emotionally drawn to, without anticipating it. He hopes his son will learn from him especially through his actions.
• From experience, Joe observed that most families hand down wealth to the next generation very poorly and it often fails, hence he has always planned to spend his wealth rather than go through the same ordeal in trying to pass it down. His focus is on giving more of an education to equip his kid with the right tools to live successfully.
• Joe's letter to his kid: "You are enough, your accomplishments are not the definition of who you are. Your mom and I love you. Continue to treat people how you want to be treated. If you go through this world doing the right thing even when it's hard, it will work out just fine for you"

Episode Timeline:

• [00:50] Introducing our guest for today, Joe Pohlen.
• [01:41] About Joe's background
• [05:27] How did you build your team to provide care rather than just storage?
• [11:56] How do you handle families that cannot afford the cost of assisted living care?
  
• [18:20] How do you encourage more frequent family visits?
• [21:06] How can a family discuss the topic of assisted living for their elderly?
• [26:44] About Joe's personal and family life.
• [38:50] Joe's letter to his kids.

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Special Guest: Joe Pohlen.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Cardinal Senior Management – Mindful Stewards with Bold Results — Joe is the owner of Cardinal Senior Management, an operator of assisted living communities in the Untied States. Cardinal Senior Management corporate offices are based in Grand Rapids, MI. Co-founders Chuck Gray and Joe Pohlen began the company with an idea of finding unique properties that needed a fresh culture and an opportunity for turnaround. Autumn House East and West in York PA were the first buildings and community for the company.
• Home - Care Cardinal — Care Cardinal provides an intimate, home-like setting where staff and residents interact like family. We’re rethinking and redesigning how to care for residents.
• Home - Live Cardinal — Live Cardinal provides care, compassion, and dignity in their residential care homes that truly have a home-like setting. We believe that senior members of society should live out their golden years with dignity and respect, remain active and involved in their community to the best of their ability, and be surrounded by friends, old and new. Assisted living is not the only housing option for an older adult who needs care. An emerging alternative is a residential care home, which provide care to small groups of adults, typically over age 60. Live Cardinal specializes in this unique form of living for seniors: A residential care home for those who cannot live independently, but hate the idea of a large institutional setting.

Brad is an attorney, entrepreneur, and business strategist who specializes in the transfer of family and closely-held businesses. He is also a former board member of Catalyst Connection.

Brad began his professional career by becoming a CPA and working for the international accounting firm now known as EY. From there, Brad became an entrepreneurial strategic business adviser and a business lawyer representing every aspect of the closely-held business.

Standout Quotes:

• "Writing is the highest form of thinking" - [Brad]
• "It's not that there's a particular process but you pick a process" - [Brad]
• "The longer you wait, the fewer the options you have, with respect to succession planning" - [Brad]
• "You can't do strategic planning unless you understand the company's culture" - [Brad]
• "It is incredible how many times people think they know what they have, and they don't" - [Brad]
• "Conflict is good, it gets things out" - [Brad]
• "All progress begins with honesty" - [Brad]
• "Most people overestimate what they can do in a year, they underestimate what they can do in ten" - [Brad]
• "If you want to improve something, measure it, if you want to improve something exponentially, measure it and have a report on it" - [Brad]
• "Succession planning is a form of strategic planning" - [Brad]
• "For things to stay the same, things must change" - [Brad]
• "I try to tell that next gen, 'your job is to increase the value and to maintain the values' " - [Brad]

Key Takeaways:

• Bradley is the author of the Amazon bestseller "The Succession Solution" and his firm, 'The Succession Coach' works with business owners to create and execute their succession plans. Brad is now an entrepreneurial strategic business adviser and a business lawyer representing closely-held businesses.
• Brad had started as a CPA with the goal to reduce taxes, and later he went on to go to law school. He realized he was helping but not solving the problem so he merged strategic planning with Estate and Succession planning which formed the Succession Solution.
• Initially, his goal was to simply put down the strategy so he could convince himself that it was feasible, however, he realized someone else could also benefit from reading it. This was how he went ahead to write his book, The Succession Solution.
• After starting a business that had made losses for two years, Brad employed strategic planning and the difference was clear; the business bounced back.
• There are 3 types of succession; Succession of Knowledge, Management, and Ownership. It is unlikely to be able to ensure the succession of management and ownership without the transfer of knowledge. However, more often than not. Succession involves the transfer of ownership with closely held business owners.
• The Succession Solution: Brad usually starts by discussing with the significant stakeholders to understand what is on the ground before getting fully involved. He also ensures the family is willing to cooperate and gets commitment upfront.
• The 6 stages of the succession plan: The first stage is the Purpose stage; identifying the basic values, the vision, and the "Why?". Next is the Discovery stage; understanding where they are before starting. The third step is the Challenge; to identify their strengths, opportunities, and most importantly, the obstacles. Most of the time what people want to get from the 6 steps is certainty because uncertainty creates anxiety.
• Brad emphasizes that conflict is good however, how that conflict is managed is critical. Communication and trust are the reason most companies fail.
• The fourth stage of the succession plan is the Mission stage. This is where the group sets milestones and creates strategies to overcome the obstacles previously identified. The Annual stage is next, and here the group decides steps that need to be taken within the next 12 months, to get closer to the milestones already set. The last stage is the Quarterly Review stage where the question is "what do we do in the next 90 days to get closer to the objective for the Annual stage?"
• The conversation of succession planning is a function of the board, hence, while members of the younger generation can have a personal conversation with their parents as the business leaders, it is fundamentally expected that the board is well suited to answer these questions. It is also helpful to talk to the professionals.
• Giving purpose to the outgoing generation of leaders in the family business is highly essential as it is a part of their transition. A good step is to create a family council for them to transition into, allowing them to offer more insight particularly on the culture and values of the business. The family office and council would also need succession planning.
• Succession planning is a form of strategic planning, as such, families should consider commencing strategic planning right after planning for succession.
• "The job of the incoming generation is to increase the value and to maintain the values" it is the job of the senior leadership to educate the upcoming leaders on the values of the business.
• Lack of planning for succession can ultimately lead to a closure of the business or loss of key employees due to uncertainty.
• Listeners who want to know how to get started with succession planning are encouraged to educate themselves first; Brad's book, "The Succession Solution" is a good resource. With adequate knowledge, they can also discuss with professionals.
• Brad's letter to his children: Never stop reading; if you want to improve yourself, read books.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Introducing today's guest, Bradley J Franc.
• [01:53] Brad shares his backstory.
• [04:25] What inspired you to write your book, "The Succession Story"?
• [05:52] Discussing the importance and role of Strategic Planning.
• [09:10] At what point do you typically get involved in the business?
• [10:50] The Succession Solution (6 stages of the succession plan)
• [26:10] How can the upcoming generation approach the conversation of succession planning with the leader in the business?
  
• [32:13] Do you also create succession plans for the family council?
• [36:04] Consequences of poor succession planning.
• [40:21] What do you suggest as a first step in succession planning?
• [42:00] Brad's letter to his children.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Special Guest: Bradley J Franc .

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• The Succession Solution — Bradly J. Franc (“Brad”), is the creator and author of the Amazon best-selling book entitled The Succession Solution: The Strategic Guide to Business Transition.

Standout Quotes:

• "Rich families that own good assets generally don't look to sell them to maximize Pre-tax IRR" - [Moses]
• "If you do not lose the building, the rents will recover" - [Moses]
• "When you start to think about things indefinitely, and you're not in a rush, it kind of opens up other possibilities in terms of structure and strategy" - [Moses]
• "It's very hard to go from zero to something… and it takes an entirely different set of skills to go from something to something much larger" - [Moses]
• "I do not believe that we as individuals live our lives for ourselves" - [Moses]

Key Takeaways:

• Moses has been buying, renovating, and managing apartment buildings in Los Angeles since 2008, through his company, Adaptive Realty, alongside investor partners. He focuses on sub-institutional deals.
• The most important part of the strategy is that rather than buy, fix and sell buildings to maximize pretax IRR, they buy properties, make them high-quality assets, manage and refinance them to get higher returns. The strategy was born from his family values as they had always been involved in Real Estate but never engaged particularly in sales of property.
• There are two reasons why people sell; firstly investors have a mindset too focused on Pretax IRR, and secondly, the sponsor gets their money after selling. If you just hold on and keep the building, the rents will recover.
• The initial funds for the business came from friends and family of Moses, and later from another family office who partnered with them. This partnership helped them build a track record that encouraged other investors to feel comfortable with them.
• The structure for the business model is not to buy, renovate and sell like the typical model with PEs, but rather they partner with wealthy families with the explicit assumption to hold on to the property not sell, however, liquidation rights goes to the family that put up all the capital. The primary strategy has been to refinance the property to pull the capital out and give it back to the investors who still retain ownership and cash flow from rents. Adaptive Realty only gets fees for their work but not cash flow from rents, sales or refinance until the investors have got their capital.
• Describing his family history, Moses shares how his first building was bought with capital from the family money dating back 4 generations. The wealth he enjoyed from his family was mostly in form of basic needs being met and, particularly education.
• When starting a business with a partner, it is critical to have a decision-maker or tie-breaker irrespective of how profits are split. The relationship between Moses and his partner in terms of how earnings are split is quite stable even for the coming generation but open to discussions if need be.
• There is currently no long-term family structure for his family, however, Moses spends a lot of time with his kids, to instill the values of passing on to the next generation what was done for them.
• Discussing Storytelling, Moses emphasizes that your forebearers are a living part of your life, and tries to make those people present for his children even though they will never meet them.
• Gaining exposure and immense assistance from his friends to succeed, Moses was also motivated to start finding ways to help people who didn't have the kind of opportunities he had.
• Advice from Moses to those aspiring for multigenerational success: Don't put yourself in a position where one investor can wake up one day and force you to restart your career. This involves having different capital providers rather than being completely dependent on one.
• From Moses to his kids: We owe everything to those who came before us, however, we can't repay them. We can only try to do for those coming after us what has been done for us, if not more.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:48] Meet today's guest, Moses Kagan.
• [01:53] About the business, Adaptive Realty.
• [13:50] How do you get investors to join you with your strategy of holding properties permanently?
• [16:45] How have you structured Adaptive Realty to be different from the typical P.E model?
• [21:55] Moses shares his family background.
• [32:36] What's your perspective on multigenerational wealth?
• [38:28] What does the future look like in terms of the next generation?
• [41:07] Do you expect your children to get involved in the business?
• [46:15] Is there any form of family governance structure?
• [48:18] Moses shares his approach to storytelling as a method to pass on values.
• [52:55] How Moses works to help others who haven't had the same privileges he enjoyed.
• [57:06] Advice from Moses to listeners aspiring to build generational legacies.
• [01:00:33] From Moses to his kids.

For more episodes go to
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Special Guest: Moses Kagan.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Property management for exceptional Los Angeles apartment buildings — Moses Kagan's company, Adaptive Realty, along with its investor-partners, owns approximately $200MM worth of high-quality buildings in interesting neighborhoods.
• Moses Kagan — Moses Kagan has been buying, renovating and managing apartment buildings in Los Angeles since 2008

This story covers not only leadership succession within a family business but also ownership succession and how the family have stayed together and united around a family office in the absence of an operating company.

Standout Quotes:

• "What's gotten us here, isn't going to necessarily get us there" - [Sean]
• "As a family, we realized that we would have to make a pretty major change in the journey... And we made the choice to start that journey from family-owned and family-run, to family-owned and professionally-run" - [Sean]
• "I think in any family business, there's a certain level of distraction or disruption that comes from the family, and if you can move that into the family council and outside of the board room, it seems to be better for everybody" - [Jeff]
• "The family office is being driven by a stewardship theme; Leave it better than you found it" - [Sean]

Key Takeaways:

• Sean Lang and the Lang family represent a 5th generation business family who owned Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, while Jeff Watters is the first outside professional CEO recruited by the family to lead the business till it was finally sold.
• The business started small, with deliveries made to "mom and pop" stores, expanded over the years, and all interested family members worked in the factory. After school, Sean started as a sales manager and worked his way up to be president.
• The family realized that there was a need to make a major change to move with the competition and this would require great talent, moving from family-owned and family-run, to family-owned and professionally-run
• Although Jeff was in a place where he wanted more in his life personally and professionally, his relationship with Sean was initially not a professional one. Following further interaction, Jeff realized the family was committed to the business, and they were authentic and intentional about their growth.
• The average tenure of a Public Company CEO is about 4 years, and a Family Business CEO is about 6years, even if you think you're going to be there longer than that, you have to plan according to the statistics.
• The introduction of professional leadership after 5 generations took some time, however, this had been tried previously and even though it failed, the family had started to get used to the idea. The goal had become to keep the family culture but adopt the benefit of big company thinking and growth capabilities.
• The notion of an organic, natural but very transparent onboarding process is extremely helpful for professionals outside looking to join a family business.
• Jeff also encourages professionals considering entry into a family business. You just have to bet on yourself to a certain extent. Once you're satisfied that the other party has high integrity and will deliver on their promises, have the conviction that you're going to deliver on yours, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. There will be other opportunities.
• While Jeff's transition into the business had its hiccups, there was a lot of intentional effort from all sides to communicate effectively and create ways to tackle arising issues. This was made easier by the family culture of transitioning where the older generation completely let go of the business which allowed Sean to give Jeff the space needed.
• Working with a Private Equity Company was pivotal in driving the rapid growth of the company moving from a 200 million-dollar company to a 2 billion-dollar company in 4 years.
• Jeff describes that the main factor that drove growth while working with the PE Company, was a deep cultural alignment
• Between the family and the company. It was all about a long strategic view of the business.
• The family council was started by Sean's father, and one of the policies laid down was that incoming family members needed to work somewhere else for 2 years or until their first promotion whichever came later, before joining the business.
• In the absence of an operating company, Jeff wanted to still have a family enterprise that could act as glue for the family, and help be a driver for education for the rising generation. This would also foster the creation of mechanisms to share the family history and culture with coming generations.
• It's not always easy to leave it better than you found it, given the mathematical fact that families almost grow faster than businesses and assets, that means each family member needs to be self-sustaining and look at any help from the family later in life as icing on the cake, not the cake itself.
• Sean shares he now has more time for family and personal relaxation, while also finding businesses to invest in. Jeff also tries to have fun, works with his wife on philanthropic projects, and serves on a number of boards.
• Jeff's letter to his kids: Jeff tells them to be bold in the pursuit of what they love, hopefully, it will be something that allows them to leave this place a better place. He encourages them to take a leap of faith, the financial fortune is an opportunity for them to invest in their future in a way that can be fulfilling for them and differentiating for their community.
  
• Sean's letter to his kids: The family business cocktail of money, love, and power is trouble. It can rip families apart easily and needs to be proactively managed within the family with the help of professionals.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:52] Introducing today's guests, Sean Lang and Jeff Watters.
• [02:30] Sean shares the history of the family business.
• [08:00] What was the reason for bringing in outside leadership?
• [10:00] How Jeff got involved with the business.
• [15:18] Were there any surprises while bringing in the idea of getting professional leadership after 5 generations?
• [20:21] Jeff describes his transition into the role of CEO.
• [29:30] Discussing the growth of the business, involvement of a Private Equity, and the decision to exit rather than transition to a 6th generation.
• [42:02] When did the Family Council begin?
• [52:25] What was the transition like after the final decision to sell the company?
• [01:00:22] Before the company was sold, there were plans to continue the Family Council?
• [01:03:51] What Next?
• [01:06:00] In a letter to your children, what is one lesson or idea you don't think many parents would mention but you consider important to understand?

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Special Guests: Jeff Watters and Sean Lang.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• L Catterton and the Lang Family to Sell Ainsworth Pet Nutrition to The J.M. Smucker Company
• The J. M. Smucker Company to Acquire Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, LLC, Maker of Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® Pet Food; Company to Explore Strategic Options for U.S. Baking Business

Julie is the first woman and the fourth generation of the Charlestein family to lead the company. Since accepting the position as CEO, Julie has implemented changes to adapt to the times, and advanced its product line to advance Premier's market impact.

The Charlestein family have adopted an interesting ownership and control structure for Premier which Julie has kindly agreed to discuss with us today.

Standout Quotes:

• "Even though I had proved myself and worked in the company for 15 years before I became CEO...people were still looking at me like did I deserve to be there?" - [Julie]
• "The way that the transitions are the easiest is when everything is written down" - [Julie]
• "Giving one person control, I think, removes a lot of the family bickering" - [Mike]
• "Remember who you are" - [Julie]
• "The dollar is Round" - [Julie]
• "I think giving the next generation members the opportunity to opt-in, rather than have an expectation, often creates the greatest want" - [Mike]
• To start a revolution, the only solution, evolve" - [Julie]
• "Don't let perfect get in the way of good" - [Julie]
• "Science doesn't always sell" - [Mike]
• "Family is family and that's where you should be connected" - [Julie]

Key Takeaways:

• The company was started by Julie's grandfather while working for his boss as a Dental Instrument Sharpener and has transitioned from the marketing of dental consumables for other brands to focus on their brand.
• Joining the family had never been an expectation by the family or part of Julie's plan, but it was looked upon as a thing of pride for the family.
• Julie explains that when it came time to join, she took conscious effort to familiarize herself with the general goals and ideals of the family business
• Highlighting factors like her young looks and family background, Julie describes the impression she got when she joined the family business, who thought she didn't deserve to be there. and after working hard, she proved them wrong.
• The transition of the business from her father to her was seamless, and void of the typical situation where the prior generation holds on to the business even after completing the transition process in writing. Julie also notes the critical role of ensuring all processes involving transition are penned down in legal documents.
• While getting together as a family is pivotal for a family business and is being inculcated, there is room for improvement.
• Julie's Family Value: "Remember who you are", you need to have a sense of who you represent including your family, your community, the company.
• Another family value from Julie: "The dollar is Round"; this means you can have money now and it can just as easily roll away from you, then roll back towards you.
• Describing the evolution of the business under her, Julie explains her goal to make the company more data-driven and consumer-led, through branding, marketing, digitization, and social media.
• One key lesson from a significant failure while running the family business was that "Science doesn't always win", as the scientific
• superiority of a product does not guarantee sales. This was realized following the creation of a multipurpose dental product, which seemed like it could do everything, but the product only ended up confusing consumers due to a lack of specificity in function. This experience had a strong impact on the parameters surrounding any development within the company.
• From Julie to her kids: Remember who you are, The dollar is Round, Respect, and Family ties.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Meet today's guest, Julie Charlestein, a 4th generation CEO.
• [01:37] The backstory of Premier Dental Family Business.
• [09:28] Growing up, was joining the family business always an expectation?
• [14:22] Julie describes the transition of the business from her father to herself.
• [24:16] Does the family get together regularly for a family meeting or family council?
• [25:27] Are there any key values passed down through the generations that still hold today?
• [26:52] Do you do anything intentionally to document the history of the family?
• [28:10] Is there a 5th generation already involved or interested in the business?
• [29:40] The Evolution of the family business under Julie.
• [32:58] Julie describes one of her most significant failures.
• [37:25] Is there potentially another chapter for you beyond your journey with the family business?
• [38:10] Julie's letter to her kids

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Julie Charlestein.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Premier Dental Product Company — Premier Dental Products Company is a global dental manufacturing business that creates, develops and manufactures innovative consumables for oral health professionals worldwide.

As a G2 entrepreneur, Carl works closely with his Mother and spouse in his family property business in New Zealand, bringing real world insights to his professional service clients. Carl is particularly passionate about how boards can transform and scale-up privately-held and family companies.

Standout Quotes:

• "There's a difference between craftsmanship and entrepreneurship" - [Carl]
• "And I like the term 'Contribution', it's all about what we have to give and finding ways of being more effective in that" - [Carl]
• "I think having a purpose as a business is fundamental to what building longevity in any business is about" - [Carl]
• "In businesses, we can see a direct correlation between the makeup of the group of people at the top and the financial performance of the business" - [Carl]
• "It is a privilege that a family has when they're right at the beginning of the journey, and they make the decision to become a family business... and they put in place the structures at that point because it's a lot less emotional to argue about something that is 10 or 20 years out, than being in the middle of that thing in 20 years time" - [Carl]
• "Families need to define 'well, what does family mean to you?' - [Carl]
• "The larger the number of beneficiaries of the family, the bigger the governance framework needs to be at a family level" - [Carl]
• "There's no such thing as an 'Original Mistake', there are so many families and so many boards around the world who have done this so many times before you, that rather than try and make an original mistake, go and see what other people have done" - [Carl]

Key Takeaways:

• Carl recalls he initially had no desire to live in Africa, a few years after this, he repeatedly had cause to travel there on business and realized he had to stay, creating offices all around Africa which help families and companies to develop their boards of directors.
• Starting University at 15 years and becoming a chartered accountant by 21 years, he had always wondered why even though each generation of his family had successful entrepreneurs, there was no build-up and transfer of wealth to the next generation.
• Knowing most of his great grandparents personally helped instill values that formed the foundation for the role he currently plays in business generally.
• Carl shares that the purpose of his family business is giving people a place to call home.
• Explaining the benefits and process of introducing new family members. Carl notes that the disparity in the energy levels between him, his wife, and other family members, allows for productivity to be maximized in different areas.
• So often the succession planning is focused on when the person passes away, but if we don't take other family members on a journey of understanding the business over time, when the time comes they won't have the understanding of it to enable a successful transition.
• The Contribution Compass is a tool used to understand family members as individuals, their personalities, and predict the expected roles they would play in the family. It is also used in business as a commercial tool since there is a direct correlation between the make-up of business leaders in any business and the success of that business.
• Regarding the formality surrounding the entry of other family members into the family business, Carl discloses that nothing would be gifted and members would have to buy into the business. He also emphasizes the need to legalize every aspect of this entry as he recommends for his clients too.
• I encourage family members to deal with things when they're not topical because that's when it's least emotional.
• Regarding planning ahead for families, the best place to start is to understand that being a shareholder doesn't necessarily mean sitting around the board table. It is also important to understand Family Governance from the perspective of defining what family means to each member.
• The Governance structure is predominantly focused on determining directly family-related issues but the Operational Board side is driven by the underlying Family business. This is where families go wrong; when they cannot differentiate between Family Governance and Governance of a Profit Generation Entity.
• While sometimes the family traditions do serve the purpose of bonding, in other cases, there is some resentment on the expectations from different family members based on such traditions.
• From Carl to his kids: It is important to spend time with your grandparents and great grandparents or people connected to them from that generation because there are threads that enable you to understand how your family has developed, and what the core values or cornerstones of success for you family are, through that time of engagement.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Introducing today's guest, Carl Bates
• [04:04] Carl shares his professional backstory.
• [14:28] The purpose of Carl's family business.
• [16:17] Apart from you and your mother, are there other family members involved?
• [22:43] The Contribution Compass
• [28:00] In terms of families planning ahead, where do we start?
• [30:39] Where does the distinction lie between a Family Council and the Operating Board?
• [34:33] Differentiating between a Family Council and a Family Forum.
• [36:45] What is one of the biggest challenges that families have when trying to put a governance structure in place for the first time?
• [38:12] Comparing an Operational Family Business with one that is just "stewarding the wealth".
• [43:50] How are families celebrating their uniqueness and traditions over the years?
• [48:50] Carl's letter to his kids.

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Special Guest: Carl Bates.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Carl Bates — Carl Bates is an entrepreneur focused on creating meaningful economic impact within the countries and economies in which he has the opportunity to participate.
• Sirdar Group — ‘Sirdar’ is the name given to the lead Sherpa on a mountain expedition. Where others view a high mountain as a great challenge or an insurmountable obstacle, the sirdar sees it as a clear path of opportunity. The sirdar builds the right team, chooses the correct route and knows when to go for the summit.

A revolutionary idea that many decades later evolved to what we know today as credit cards. He later put in place a retail shop to sell the products himself. This business was transitioned to his son in the late 70s. A couple of stores have grown into a corporation with over 70 stores in Ecuador and a strong ecommerce presence.

The business model focuses on financing products to a population, many of whom, do not have a credit history yet. Juan Carlos and his brother have taken over the business in the last few years putting in place top technological systems and curating an innovative culture.

Standout Quotes:

• "Be respectful of everyone regardless of their position, their role, or what they do with their lives" - [Juan]
• "Be very low profile...with your life, with your business, Humility in that sense" - [Juan]
• "I would seriously encourage anyone to look for a mentor in the early stage who will help guide them through the different opportunities that they would face in their lives" - [Juan]
• "I would encourage anyone in their twenties or early thirties to form their own business, especially if they want to be like a CEO... they have to quickly learn and fail on a smaller scale" - [Juan]
• "Founding your own business is like 3 MBAs in one" - [Juan]

Key Takeaways:

• Juan describes the original business model which is still in play today. His grandfather had started selling coupons which allowed customers to buy products from other stores now and pay back in installments to him. He later opened his store to sell those products, in effect, he was a credit provider.
• The business model is targeted at customers who don't get credit from their banks or lack a credit history to support them getting it.
• The biggest aspect of the business is now e-commerce, especially following the lockdown in the pandemic
• Describing that he was not forced into the family business, there was always some level of expectation that he would join the business, and he had already started getting involved at an early age. However he had left to get an MBA in the US, and decided to start his business rather than return to the family business, but after a few years, his father called him back. He stayed for a while and quitted since his working relationship with his father was poor.
• Juan shares that he finally went back to the family business with conditions given; the first was to have a board member to sort out rifts when they come up, the second was not reporting directly to his father.
• The most challenging aspect of the business they had to change, upon joining the family again, was the culture of the company in order to attract new talent. Some managers also had to leave, as there was a need to work with people who were more aligned with the goals of the company.
• Discussing his process of implementing change, Juan shares that his first step is to work with the people already in the company, if this fails, he then persuades the workers to make the necessary changes, and if that also fails, he would find someone else who can work with him.
• History did repeat itself as Juan's father also had issues with his father regarding joining in and transitioning into the family business.
• A key source of his knowledge was starting his own business, and also putting in the effort to be exposed to different industries by participating on their boards.
• Investing in time with the kids has become a top priority on the list of worthwhile investments?
• The family decided to assemble a book 2 years ago, which would tell the story of the family business and the family as well as the future of the business.
• Key lessons from Juan's journey: Be very strategic in how you go about implementing change. Being intentional about communication in the workplace and within the family is also very necessary as part of a family business.
• From Juan to his kids: Look for something that you want to do in life, something you enjoy, and something that adds value to the world. Juan would also encourage his kid to put the best effort into anything worth doing, find a mentor, and within the early twenties start a business because the knowledge gained is like 3 MBAs in one.
  

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] About today's guest "Juan Carlos Salame"
• [02:00] Juan narrates the origin of the family business.
• [08:30] How did you come to join the Family business?
• [18:36] What changes have you been able to implement since you and your brother joined in?
• [21:40] Juan shares his approach to making drastic changes in a company.
• [27:56] Is there a multi-generational family plan in place for your children?
• [30:15] Have there been any transition issues since the business started?
• [31:45] How have you learned and grown on your journey?
• [35:12] What is the most worthwhile investment you have ever made?
• [36:13] Highlighting Values instilled in Juan which he passes on to his children.
• [37:09] Does your family invest in anything intentionally to try and document its history?
• [38:28] Juan shares lessons from his growth process
• [41:45] What would you say is your legacy?
• [43:05] Juan's letter to his kids

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Special Guest: Juan Carlos Salame.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Créditos Económicos

With over a decade of experience working with select business families in Africa, Nike Anani helps owners lead their family organizations to long-term impact and legacy.

Her clients choose to engage her, not only because of her extensive professional training, but also because of her practical experience as both a business founder and a NextGen. This allows her to uniquely empathise with both generations and act as a connector to the Founding generation.

Standout Quotes:

• "And that's an observation I have of founders and entrepreneurs, they're just amazing people that have an eye for opportunity" - [Nike]
• "As most founders do, it was about giving me the best opportunity to set me up for success and often in their minds, success is going as far away from the business to get the best experience...so they can come back" - [Nike]
• "In Nigeria, 90% of indigenous businesses are family businesses, but only 2% survive beyond the founder" - [Nike]
• "Family businesses are so key to the community, if they keep failing after a generation, then what's that doing to the economy?" - [Nike]
• "I think that starting from a relatively small base, the best way to build anything is with community, and actually building what that community wants rather than just dictating something that you found off the shelf from another culture" - [Mike]
• "If you've seen one family business, you've seen one family business" - [Nike]
• "A friend of mine says whenever you wake up is your morning, some people don't wake up until they're 85, they don't know what they want" - [Nike]
• "I need to be in the best version of myself so I can serve people to the best of my ability" - [Nike]
• "There's always something new to learn, we've never arrived, we're just on this ongoing journey of endless learning, in my view" - [Nike]
• "There's no position that's guaranteed in life, whether it be a position of material success or honor, today you might be celebrated but it doesn't mean tomorrow you will be" - [Nike]
• "It is important to ensure that people's external projections don't become your internal story, because your story is the most powerful thing that you can give yourself" - [Nike]

Key Takeaways:

• Nike is a 2nd generation family business owner, and she narrates how her father started the family business initially as a side-hustle.
• Describing events around her entry into the business, she shares the plan was to only stay for a few months in Nigeria, gain exposure to business in general, and move back to the UK eventually. However, she was drawn to the spirit of entrepreneurship there and felt more liberated as a young black female.
• Nike explains that while her father had expressed general support for her in any field she was planning to go into, she had never expected she would work in the family business.
• A glaring disparity in the decision-making process between her former place of work and the family business was the time taken which could be much shorter or longer in different scenarios, leaving her befuddled about family business as a whole. This encouraged her to get professional education at the Family Firm Institute in Boston.
• Employing her knowledge in her family business, Nike started the process of "Governance" which involved her siblings more, intending to avert the typical dissolution that plagued most Nigerian family businesses after the founding generation.
• Another strategy adopted involved starting the conversation by creating a community called "African Family Firms" for African families facing similar challenges to meet and navigate through these issues.
• Nike highlights various peculiarities of African families, noting how these have to be put into consideration when trying to find solutions to the survival of family businesses in Africa.
• You won't know what you want until you come together as a family, have open conversations, and plan for different scenarios. Get clear as a family on who you are, what your values are, the goals of the family, and the purpose of the family business.
• Emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, Nike embraces the process as a part of being the best version of herself.
• A significant failure that set her up for success took place in school, where the result she got at some point would not be good enough for the jobs she wanted, and this motivated her to push herself harder than ever before to achieve her desired goal.
• Nike’s parents impressed upon her certain values described as 4Hs and 2Ps. The 4Hs are Honesty, Hard work, Humility, and Harmony while the 2Ps are People and Places. All of these were included in the family constitutional value system when the formal family enterprise was set up.
• It is important to understand that while people can project their weaknesses onto you and vilify you, their external projections should not become your internal story because your story is the most powerful thing you can give yourself, and you have to hold on to that story.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:50] Meet Today's guest, 'Nike Anani'.
• [01:56] Nike's personal and professional background.
• [08:30] How did the family make the jump from medical consumables to construction and building hospitals?
• [16:55] How were you inspired to learn more about the Business of Family?
• [23:00] Since the wake-up call that you received, what did you do about it for your own family or your friends' families?
• [29:50] Do people document entitlements for kin or rather more of a bloodline lineage?
• [32:53] Challenges surrounding Real Estate planning in Africa.
• [39:18] An overview of Nike's different roles in family business generally.
• [50:15] Has there been a specific failure that you've learned a great deal from?
• [56:00] Apart from education, what else came through as fundamentally important from your parents?
• [59:40] Nike's letter to her kids.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

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Special Guest: Nike Anani.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Nike Anani — Nike is the founder and CEO of Nike Anani Practice, Ltd. With over a decade of experience working with select business families in Africa, Nike Anani helps owners lead their family organizations to long-term impact and legacy.
• Nextgen – the turning wheel | Nike Anani — Nike Anani's clients choose to engage her, not only because of her extensive professional training, but also because of her practical experience as both a business founder and a NextGen
• Building a Generational Bridge in Africa - Women in Family Business
• Podcast: The Connected Generation with Nike Anani — The Connected Generation Podcast with Nike Anani

Growing up in the business motivated Aaron to build on what his father started 30 years ago. Since assuming leadership of Organika, in partnership with his brother Jordan, they have increased business seven-fold and have grown the company into an award-winning, globally recognized brand, focusing on innovation and a vibrant company culture.

Standout Quotes:

• "You start with the mission of the company and that'll help drive your decisions after". - [Aaron]
• "If you can tweak one little thing in your process that could save you 30minutes...do it". - [Aaron]
• "You are going to determine yourself, how well you do". - [Aaron]
• "I really do believe there's nothing like good old hard work". - [Aaron]
• "My relationship with my brother is bigger than the business... I think I can pass that down to my kids" - [Aaron]

Key Takeaways:

• Aaron's dad had the dream when he moved from Malaysia to Canada to give his kids a chance to get ice cream whenever they wanted.
• Following the treatment of his kidney stones using natural products, he started the business with a vision to make healthcare accessible for all.
• Despite the rejection, his father persistently put himself and his products out there, till the business took off.
• Aaron shares he always had an interest in the family business although his father never tried to impose any expectations to join.
• Aaron narrates a simple experience where he noticed the boss employed by his father to manage the business got to the office one morning, and deleted all his office voicemails without listening to any one, inciting Aaron's suspicion of the poor management inherent in the business.
• Realizing the diet differences between the newer and older generation, the company pivoted from mostly vitamin pills to be more involved in superfoods, powders, drink mixes.
• The surprising eventuality of Aaron becoming CEO in an Asian family where he is the younger brother and always at odds with his older brother, was partly made possible by the family dynamic which started to work out following certain events that strengthened the bond between them.
• Aaron shares his vision for the company: I want to see us in every single home in Canada.
• Explaining that his dad wasn't overprotective but rather allowed them to make mistakes, and these mistakes helped them learn how to make fast and efficient decisions.
• The question: What are you doing about it?
• If you teach children what wealth means, it's rather thoughtful to leave wealth for them, but if not then it's just an expectation, and things could go wrong.
• To Aaron's kids: Know the importance of Family because it is more important than even the business

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Meet today's guest "Aaron Chin".
• [01:25] Where did the family business begin, and how do you become involved in this story?
• [07:40] About Aaron's entry into the business: Was it always an expectation or some other circumstance?
• [16:09] Describing the business today.
• [19:55] How did the leadership transition come about?
• [24:40] Being the younger brother in an Asian family, how did you arrive at the CEO role?
• [27:15] What sort of investment process did you go through, and how did you formalize the business?
• [33:33] Would you say the company culture remains unchanged or has it morphed as a result of the impact of Private Equity coming in?
• [37:45] Aaron shares major lessons learned by trying things and making mistakes at the beginning
• [38:50] Is there a multi-generational plan to continue the legacy that your father started?
• [41:03] How do you feel about children inheriting wealth?
• [42:39] Aaron's letter to his kids.

For more episodes go to
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Special Guest: Aaron Chin.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Organika — Aaron Chin is a second-generation business leader and CEO of Organika which is a family-led Canadian company dedicated to providing innovative, premium health products to help inspire people to live healthier lives.
• Aaron Chin (@organikaaron) Instagram

He has been active in the business of education since 1994 when he and his wife, Arabella Peters, co-founded Apollo English and then the British University Vietnam. Since then they have invested in a number of businesses all focused on education.

Khalid and Arabella see themselves as the founding generation of their family enterprise and intend to never sell their Dragonfly Education hold co. They’re actively involving their young children in business conversations and laying the foundation for generational wealth, legacy and impact.

Standout Quotes:

• "What's your biggest headache?"
• "Learning from successful family businesses; so many of them do not load up on debt" - [Khalid]
• "The future of education is blended, that means you've got to incorporate online with offline" - [Khalid]
• "Sophisticated multi-generational families.. have taken generations to figure out that they need to separate the Governance from the Operations, and that the family needs to be excellent stewards and owners first before they can consider playing an active role in Operations" - [Mike]
• "A well-run family business is difficult to beat, especially during downtimes" - [Khalid]
• "Why trade anything in, when we've found purpose?" - [Khalid]
• "If you’re building any business, I'd say that 'Focus' is the thing that's often lacking, especially if the entrepreneur at the beginning thinks they have to say yes to everything" - [Khalid]
• "Look for the good in life... because it really helps you enjoy the journey" - [Khalid]

Key Takeaways:

• If you want to be truly in control of your journey in a business, you need to be the owner, not the manager.
• At the very beginning, the vision was simply to get the business to survive.
• It's only when you move from surviving to thriving that you can ask, "what do you want to do?"
• When asked "what is your biggest headache?" at an event, many of the entrepreneurs answered "My father".
• If you're not happy with 60000 pounds per year, then any more money might not change anything.
• Khalid describes the challenges of Covid-19 as a learning period for the business as a whole.
• Finding a way to create balance and incorporate online with offline learning is pivotal, that will be the future for the family business.
• Khalid and his wife, Arabella involve their kids as much as possible in the family business even at the early ages of 8 and 10, with some tests to determine their level of interest and perception of the business as a whole.
• In the future, the key role for the kids is going to be "Good Owners"
• The stewardship role is critical
• One of the tips to help foster togetherness among children is that if one of them does something wrong, punish them all.
• Other points to note is to never elevate one sibling above the other and to always leave them to sort out their arguments without being the judge.
• Khalid shares that the preferred investments taken by DragonFly are those in which a controlling stake can be bought.
• A major mistake that was made at some point was accepting an offer from Nokia when it should have been turned down because it was distracting from the core competency of the business.
• Khalid shares that his source of knowledge includes mentors, peer to peer learning, and mistakes.
• From Khalid to his kids: Look for the good in life because it really helps you enjoy the journey.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] About Khalid Muhmood and the inspiration for starting the business of education
• [06:01] Khalid explains some of the reasons behind the choice of Vietnam as a location for starting the business
• [08:59] What was the vision at the time of starting the business
• [15:03] The new vision for Dragonfly Education Group
• [19:41] How did the business hold up in this period of Covid19, do you have an interest in online learning?
• [24:34] Is there a vision of bringing your kids into the business if they're interested?
• [31:20] Do you have any other family structures aside from stewarding Dragonfly as the main asset?
• [32:53] Khalid shares some of the values, principles, and parenting approaches to raise well-rounded children amidst wealth.
• [36:37] Where does this family business DNA come from?
• [41:17] Where do you think you'll make the next operational or financial investment?
• [43:01] One of the major mistakes made in running the business: Losing focus
• [47:50] A letter from Khalid to his kids

For more episodes go to
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Special Guest: Khalid Muhmood.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Khalid Muhmood — Khalid is the Founder and Investor in education with a passion for delivering education that develops global citizens and fosters prosperity.
• Trung Tâm Anh Ngữ Apollo | Chương Trình Học Tiếng Anh Với 100% Giáo Viên Nước Ngoài — Khalid has been active in the business of education since 1994 when he and his wife, Arabella Peters, co-founded Apollo English and then the British University Vietnam. Since then they have invested in a number of businesses all focused on education.
• Dragonfly Education Group — Khalid is from the UK and through the family business holding company Dragonfly Education Group, is an operational investor in education.

Ashok is a guide to the road less travelled. His story is a fascinating journey of a struggle to leave the family business and ultimately forge his own path.

Standout Quotes:

• "My most disliked few words, 'You should know what to do'." - [Ashok]
• "If the CEO of a business is not passionate about a business, he has no business to be the CEO" - [Ashok]
• "If the family business is the only thing on your resume, it's not very worthwhile" - [Ashok]
• "Crowd brings crowd to a restaurant" - [Ashok]
• "Two things I and my wife can never give you as parents, we cannot give you resilience, it only comes from hardship... We cannot give you self esteem, it comes only from achieving your own goals and making a name for yourself" - [Ashok]
• "Everybody has a price at which they might do something which is borderline unethical, and the price depends a lot on your socio-emotional background" - [Ashok]
• "When one door closes, another door opens.. in order for that to be true, you have to do your part which is don't hang around too long when the door closes" - [Ashok]

Key Takeaways:

• Ashok shares that although he wasn't particularly excited to work in the family business, the incentives and knowledge gained made it a perfect introduction to the retail business.
• If the family business is the only thing on your resume, it's not very worthwhile, even if you were the MD.
• Ashok discloses that following the impact of the Asian financial crisis on his transition out of the family business, he had fallen into depression for close to a year.
• If you leave a family business, you don't want to have some small share in the business and start second-guessing whoever is left behind.
• Although he had a clean exit, there were effects on the family dynamics at the time, as some family members didn't understand why.
• Despite the many setbacks, looking back, there is no doubt that leaving the family business was the right step to take for Ashok.
• I have no respect for trust fund kids.
• You have a life outside and beyond the business, a lot of entrepreneurs are consumed by their business even when they should be spending time with family.
• Ashok admits that based on his experience with his family business, he was not encouraged to start another one involving his children
• After interacting with younger family business executive owners, a common notable point was that they were given time to work outside the family business before coming back.
• From Ashok to his kids: when one door closes, another door opens, don't wait around too long afterward.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Introducing "Ashok Melwani"
• [01:56] Ashok narrates how he joined the family business
• [02:50] What sort of products was the business offering?
• [13:03] Your career with the family business, where did it reach, and what happened next?
• [31:32] Ashok explains he had a clean exit from the family business.
• [34:00] Would you say that leaving the family was the right decision for you?
• [35:04] How is the family business going today?
• [36:31] Did you ever try and nurture your children to work with you and create another family business?
• [38:28] Ashok's opinion on children inheriting wealth
• [40:39] A notable experience that helped shape his journey.
• [44:00] What advice would you give to a driven entrepreneur who aspires to be the founding generation of a multi-generational family business?
• [44:57] What's your take on generational businesses?
• [46:46] My next stage in life involves venturing into Leadership Coaching
• [47:35] Ashok's letter to his children

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Ashok Melwani.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• SUMIDA CORPORATION — Melwani has been an Outside Director of Sumida Corp since April 2003
• INSAS BERHAD - Strength in Depth and Diversity — Ashok Melwani served as a Non-Executive Director of Insas Bhd since November 29, 2004

George grew up as a child of family business owners and has run several Isaac multigenerational family businesses as a CEO and board member. More recently, he is the founder and president of GAI Capital Ltd., a family business consulting firm and the author of a newly released book titled Your Business, Your Family, Your Legacy: Building a Multigenerational Family Business That Lasts

Standout Quotes:

• "I realized that some of the things I did in running our family business and what a lot of people are doing today are not best practices"
• "I used to think that the goal was to get everybody in the family to stay in the family business and figure out a way to make them live happily ever after... My goal now is to understand the real needs of each family member and see if they fit within what the family business is going to be about"
• "The majority can rule and figure out what they want to do but you need to deal with the minority issues... so that you can satisfy their needs"
• "The most important to me of the whole thing is just being certain that your ownership group is aligned"
• "There are times when you should sell your family business"
• "Shareholder returns are much different than business returns... Figuring out how you provide real-life shareholder returns is an important step that many of us don't recognize"
• "Money is not everything by any means"

Key Takeaways:

• Although George had gotten involved in the family business at a very early age and had planned to join fully after school, he decided to go out and get outside experience first.
• George notes that the Authoritarian leadership style of his father, although a good leader, made for a rather weak management team generally.
• The 2 conceptual parts to George's 9-step succession planning roadmap: Family Transition Planning and Business Transition Planning.
• George explains that formerly his goal would be to make everyone stay in the family business and be happy, but now he tries to understand the individual needs of each family member, to see if they fit into the family business as a whole.
• It is necessary to revisit the topic of people's needs and be sure the business is aligned with taking care of these needs because those needs change over time.
• The 2 Basic components of selling the family business: the financial side and the personal side.
• Headwinds that perpetuate a multi-generational family wealth: FIST ( Family units, Inflation, Spending rate, Taxes)
• George shares some insight from the book "Everybody matters", describing how attention to the little things can go a long way in making workers satisfied
• Think about what you want your legacy to be; are you aligning yourself with that legacy?
• Be Curious and Have Empathy

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] A short overview of George's background and the Isaac family business
• [05:12] George is the 3rd generation of the family business
• [05:28] What sort of product lines is the business in?
• [06:22] How did your story evolve into the family advisory work?
• [09:44] About the A 9-step succession planning roadmap from George's book
• [17:16] George highlights implications to consider in selling a family business
• [23:37] The Family Business Wealth Evaporation Trap
• [33:05] F.I.S.T
• [36:51] Is it possible to maintain wealth at a reasonable level even though the family grows at a compound rate as the generations go on?
• [39:47] George shares his opinion about children inheriting wealth.
• [41:51] George recommends the book "Everybody Matters" by Bob Chapman
• [44:31] From George to his kids

*For more episodes go to *
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Special Guest: George Isaac.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• George Isaac - Management Consulting, Family Business Consulting, Corporate Board Membership — George Isaac is the founder and president of GAI Capital Ltd.
• Book: Your Business, Your Family, Your Legacy: Building a Multigenerational Family Business That Lasts - George A. Isaac — **5-star "Amazon's #1 New Release" Rated Book** Whether you are an experienced family business or family office executive, board member, owner, or next-generation family member, George Isaac has written the definitive handbook on the challenges of managing a multi-generational family enterprise.
• Ten Critical Initiatives for Family Business Longevity - Tharawat Magazine — Your family business is your best vehicle for generating income, preserving wealth and serving the needs of your stakeholders. Yet, sustaining family enterprises for the next generation is a continuous challenge, with the majority not surviving.
• Family Business Pandemic Cash Flow Survival Strategies - Family Business Magazine

Founded in India in 1933 by Gautam’s great grandfather, he along with fellow members of the current generation continue to steward the family and business legacy today.

Listen on to hear how the business was intentionally split off from a wider family group to resolve in-fighting, how they’ve professionalised the business and what challenges they face when contemplating the 5th generation’s involvement.

Standout Quotes:

• My dad used to tell me "if you want to join the work, you have to make sure you are capable, I won't yield an inch if I don't think you are capable and you have to fight for your position, I am not going to give it to you" - [Gautam Goel]
• "I don't believe in the saying Look before you leap because very often you don't leap, only when you leap do you realize what your capabilities are" - [Gautam Goel]
• "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - [Gautam Goel]
• "Don't be fixated on results, put in your best, do your effort and leave the results" - [Gautam Goel]

Key Takeaways:

• Gautam encouraged his daughters to go to college, explaining that going straight to work makes you grow up fast and there is no need to rush the experience when you can enjoy it.
• When trying different things, it is important not to move too fast from one to another because you might not give each your full attention
• Business can't be a democracy, one person has to make the decisions
• Gautam explains that to be in this industry in India, you cannot solely be profit-oriented, you need to have a mindset to do good for your community.
• Not encouraging recklessness, but as long as you have common sense, it's good to be adventurous and make some mistakes to figure things out.
• Don't be fixated on results, results are not in your control, your effort is

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] About Gautam Goel and the history of his family business.
• [14:31] How did you end up joining the family business?
• [20:25] Gautam describes the natural process of his succession noting how this affects decision making in the business
• [24:55] What does the business look like today, from where it started?
• [34:36] Is there a next-generation that is interested in joining the family business, and what challenges do you foresee?
• [40:36] Integrating the idea of outside leadership in the family business
• [42:26] Are there structures or plans in place regarding family governance?
• [43:48] Gautam's thoughts on children inheriting wealth
• [45:50] Are you taking any steps to document the history of the family business?
• [46:25] Gautam's letter to his kids

For more episodes go to
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If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Gautam Goel.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Welcome To Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd — Gautam Goel is the fourth generation Managing Director of Dhampur International Pte. Ltd

Paul leads young adult retreats, focusing on authentic relationships, navigating change, and leadership development. He also coaches young adults seeking clarity on their life purpose, mission, and vision, and guides them to take full responsibility for their lives.

Jim’s work has led him to write three books and an audio series based on high achievers’ yearnings for identity, meaning, and connection. He has been married 44 years and enjoys enriching relationships with his wife, their three adult children, and a granddaughter.

Jim and Paul work extensively with Young Presidents’ Organization and Family Business Network Families Worldwide. The last dozen years they have also guided several S.E. Asian families in their quest to establish enduring principles across multiple generations.

Standout Quotes:

• "One of the major issues of families of wealth is they make the mistake of insulating the kids from the realities of living outside of the wealth bubble" - [Jim Warner]
• "Without being able to experience pain, you cheat people out of the ability to experience joy; I'd like to think of pain and joy as opposite sides of the same coin and if you mute one, you're gonna mute the other" - [Jim Warner]
• "If we want our young adult children to step into their sense of destiny, are we modeling that ourselves?" - [Jim Warner]
• "If you've worked with one family, you've worked with one family" - [Jim and Paul Warner]
• "Introduce a common language within the family so that we can play in these intentional spaces, to stretch towards each other." [Paul Warner]
• "Harmony is impossible without the willingness to go into painful discussions" - [Jim Warner]
• "If you choose not to discuss the Elephant in the room, you forfeit the right to complain" - [Jim Warner]
• "When all parties are willing to play ball, when all parties are willing to take responsibility, we'll often say "right now this family has 600% responsibility" each of you takes 100% responsibility for what is within your control." [Paul Warner]
• "Love is unconditional, relationships are not" - [Jim Warner]

Key Takeaways:

• Jim explains the need to distinguish supporting and protecting, from enabling, because oftentimes families blur those lines.
• Mike and Jim agree that being insulated from the rest of the world does not necessarily protect wealthy children but may do more harm than good.
• Governance structures are secondary to parental modeling of core values.
• Rather than jumping right into getting the kid fit for succession, the key thing a parent should ask is "How do I help my young adult find their own passion in life?"
• Jim highlights 3 key steps to balancing being a nurturing parent while not enabling children: Active listening, Allowing children to face disappointment, and Guiding them to take responsibility for their lives.
• Many professionals who go into a family environment have a relatively small toolbox; if all you've got is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
• Harmony is about truth-telling, it's not about being nice to one another
• Jim stresses that the goal of discussing the painful topics (the elephant in the room) is the potential of having an authentic family relationship as opposed to a transactional family relationship
• If a sense of self-awareness is instilled into children, then when they're adults you can have mature transformational discussions as a family, but without it, the children may never grow up.
• The components of the "Trust" that sets elders apart: Credibility, Reliability, Honesty, Vulnerability and Adaptability.
• There are two ways life happens; life can happen to me where I'm the victim, or life can happen by me where I'm a creator and I create my own options
• Life is a journey and the important things take time; part of that journey will be your individual discovery and deeper understanding and connection with yourself.
• Don't change, I love you just the way you are

Episode Timeline:

• [00:50] Mike briefly introduces both Jim and Paul Warner, and they share some of their background stories
• [04:45] Paul describes the impact of his father in his eventual choice of profession
• [07:22] What are some of the challenges that you've seen for parents raising motivated and happy children amidst wealth?
• [13:47] What role do you think formal governance structures play in shaping strong family values and bonds?
• [17:05] Paul's definition of the rising generation, describing the common dynamic between them and the older generation.
• [20:25] How do you help people identify their own path and whether or not they're fit for succession?
• [22:46] How Paul got into the family business
• [28:02] Jim describes how a parent can be welcoming and nurturing without enabling the children
• [29:55] The approach to working with different families
• [33:45] 13 guidelines for authentic interactions in any environment
• [39:10] Discussing the "Elephant in the room"
• [51:37] What sets an elder apart with respect to the ability to influence the success of a family?
• [01:00:06] From Paul to his kids
• [01:01:07]From Jim to his kids

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Special Guests: Jim Warner and Paul Warner.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Jim Warner — Jim Warner is an entrepreneur, author, and transitions expert. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he founded, grew, ran, and eventually sold an international software company.
• Paul Warner — Paul is a seasoned facilitator and coach in professional, personal, and social sectors. He specializes in creating environments for small groups to openly share, build trust, establish deeper authentic connections, and navigate difficult topics through experiential retreats and tailored workshop trainings.
• Click here for specific tools for Enhancing Family Dynamics — (as referenced in the podcast)
• Book: Facing Pain - Embracing Love - by Warner, Jim — Our highly competitive society drives us to be the best and accumulate the most. Yet, as we earn more recognition and wealth, the less we seem to enjoy our lives. In our quiet moments, many of us sense a vague unease and admit that something important is missing. Facing Pain - Embracing Love uses a unique geographic metaphor to guide you out of that discontent and into the joy and richness of authentic living.
• Book: The Drama-Free Office (a.k.a. The Drama-Free Family) by Klemp, Kaley & Warner, Jim — In The Drama-Free Office, authors Jim Warner and Kaley Klemp interweave humorous and relatable case studies with the key skills you'll need for managing office and family saboteurs--be they subordinates, coworkers, boss, parent, child, in-law or other relatives. You will see your coworkers, family members (and yourself) in this entertaining and practical blueprint for addressing the dramatic behaviors that cripple so many teams and families.
• Book: 13 Guidelines for Effective Teams by Klemp, Kaley — Good communication is at the heart of every successful team and family. 13 Guidelines for Effective Teams gives each individual within an organization or family the power to create the most reliable environment for effective communication. Used by an entire team or family, the stage is set for breakthrough creativity and authentic relationships. Team and family facilitator, Kaley Warner Klemp, has compiled these powerful principles into a concise pocket manual, making effective team or family communication accessible in virtually any work environment.
• Book: Aspirations of Greatness by Warner, Jim — AoG introduces several models for navigating the treacherous rapids of midlife, with principles that apply to anyone who feels lost, lonely, or unloved. The book is a blueprint for positive change and offers uplifting, practical guidelines for living out your innate genius with gratitude, wisdom and serenity.
• Audio Series: When Having It All Isn’t Enough by Warner, Jim — This 12-part audio series identifies the issues, dilemmas, and emotions faced by an emerging generation of successful, but unfulfilled, professionals. These “winners with heart” appear to have it all, yet yearn for purpose, connection, and inner peace, along with a renewed energy and aliveness. They have attained affluence and power, but confess to feeling little sense of mission, meaning, or connection in their lives.

14 years passed before all personal liabilities of his family from the days of the financial crisis were eventually settled. In the process, he built a new family business, in education. The Taylor’s Education Group is today the largest private education group in Malaysia. Focused on premium education, Taylor’s K-12 schools & higher education institutions are widely recognised as the top education institutions in their respective categories. Taylor’s institutions operate in Malaysia, Singapore & Vietnam.

The struggles during the tough financial period of his life shaped Teik Ngan’s stewardship views for family business. Appreciating unity, his family has introduced concepts and activities that promote collaborative conversations & strengthen relationships. He is dedicated to the development & transition of his family’s next generation of 13.

Teik Ngan’s family are active members of the Family Business Network Asia & he is the current President of the Board.

Standout Quotes:

• "We had to learn how to live together; we had to form a Living Together Committee"
• "One thing that normally goes wrong when families end up in dispute is lack of proper communication"
• "The family unit is important and sometimes we are subservient to the larger family"
• "We try to always emphasize that the family comes before the business, the business allows us the blessing to be able to have the lifestyle that we have, but we have to work together as a family first"
• "Do you want to be Rich or do you want to be King?"
• "I would encourage my kids to understand the context in why they do what they do... What is it all for? Wealth is fleeting; wealth is something that we cannot take with us when we die"

Key Takeaways:

• Dato’ informed the bank he was indebted to, that they could either push him into bankruptcy or loan him more money to rebuild and pay back the company debts.
• A living together committee had to be formed to help the large family live in one compound.
• Knowing that lack of communication was a common cause of family disputes prompted the introduction of Forums to build positive communication.
• Dato’ shares that the most important thing that has been done as leader of the family business in recent times is Annual Vacations.
• The difference between "Family Business" and "Business family" is that in 'Family Business', the family comes before the business.
• Guided by the shared family values, one of which is "Achievement and Learning", Dato’ explains how the next generation is encouraged to follow their passion even when it may be outside the family business.
• The concept of a "Personal Portfolio" in creating an education plan for the family
• The difference between being rich and being a king is that a king has ultimate authority, loyal subjects and lots he has to look after but being rich is just going for performance, the best point is somewhere between both
• Dato’ explains the concept of the "Deathwalk", an exercise involving walking into our death, looking back at our current age, and giving ourselves the advice we would.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Introducing Dato’ Loy and 'The Taylor's Education group'
• [01:59] Dato’ narrates the events surrounding his transition into his father's company, which was is debt before the overwhelming challenges brought about by the Asian financial crisis
• [07:02] Dato’ admits he was ill-prepared for the scale of complexity involved in the business, worsened by the lack of adequate resources to surmount the crisis at the time.
• [08:43] From a collapsed family business to a thriving one
• [13:45] Dato’ describes in detail the current size and scale of the family business
• [14:50] How did these experiences shape your views towards stewardship of the family business?
• [20:50] The living together committee
• [23:28] Dato’ explains the different strategies employed to keep the family harmony
• [29:25] Differentiating between "Family Business" and "Business family"
• [33:35] Are you actively planning and anticipating succession with the next generation?
• [35:16] The concept of a "Personal Portfolio" in creating an education plan for the family
• [40:53] In the last 5 years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your family business?
• [43:26] Dato's letter to his kids: 'the Deathwalk'

*For more episodes go to *
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Special Guest: Dato’ Loy Teik Ngan.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Taylor's Education Group — The Taylor’s Education Group is today the largest private education group in Malaysia. Focused on premium education
• Loy Teik Ngan - Family Business Network Asia — Teik Ngan’s family are active members of the Family Business Network Asia & he sits on its board

Through multiple generations of management, and multiple business areas and geographies, B.Grimm (which was founded in Bangkok in 1878), has managed to cultivate a spirit of innovation and empowerment among its staff.

Standout Quotes:

• “All the family members that are not in the business are just as important because they also form who you are, form your opinions, and influence you in some way” – [Caroline Link]
• “I think the most important thing that we invest in, is our reputation and that is really the most important thing that we have” – [Caroline Link]
• “Being a family business; that really helped in a way because these strong values, they weren’t only passed on when you became a leader within the company, but they were lived in the household” – [Caroline Link]
• “Keep working on yourself, and if you want things to change you have to initiate it and change yourself” – [Caroline Link]

Key Takeaways:

• Caroline explains that the resilience of the family business over time was born from the entrepreneurial spirit in the leaders, as well as a strong culture that is value and purpose-driven
• A family business is different from normal business; families come from a place of love, harmony, and support, and it’s important to look at this dynamic
• Caroline describes that the most important thing the business invests in is “Reputation”, and a lot of the reputation is based on the company's purpose and culture.
• Following an exercise aimed at creating an in-depth definition of the company as a whole, it was realized that the key to the success of the company, even from the founders, was an inherent drive towards helping society and creating value.
• Caroline also shares that a workshop on family values revealed the two main values in her family to be ”Contribution” and “Sense of Freedom”
• It is important to develop a strong sense of self-awareness; keep working on yourself, and if you want things to change you have to initiate it and change yourself
• Find what makes you happy professionally and gives you meaning, and make a contribution

Episode Timeline:

• [00:48] Meeting the guest; Caroline Link, and the B.Grimm company
• [01:33] A brief history on the founding of the B.Grimm Company up to the 3rd generation
• [06:48] Caroline shares that she was lucky her interests were aligned with many fields that the family business was already involved in.
• [08:40] How has the family business remained resilient for such a long time?
• [09:53] How the family has governed itself successfully
• [15:52] Diversifying the family wealth outside of the business
• [16:54] Caroline describes that the family strives to build an archive of the business history even though so much of it has been lost to wars and a fire accident.
• [20:23] What is the most worthwhile investment you have ever made?
• [22:01] Who is B.Grimm?
• [23:20] The two main family values shared by Caroline’s family
• [25:17] The scale of the B.Grimm enterprise
• [28:06] Caroline’s thoughts on the children being a part of the family business
• [31:58] A letter from Caroline to her Kids

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

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If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Caroline Link.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• EN B.Grimm Group – Doing business with compassion for the development of civilisation in harmony with nature. — B.Grimm is one of Thailand’s oldest family-owned industrial conglomerates which Caroline Link is being groomed to run.
• Marking 140 years of success — A FAMILY-OWNED multinational conglomerate founded in 1878 and active in everything from healthcare to real estate, e-commerce, and transport; B Grimm is celebrating 140 years of success with a series of initiatives, among them an exhibition and a book.
• Prestige Online - 40 Under 40 - Caroline Link — Caroline Link is the fourth-generation heir to B.Grimm, one of Thailand’s oldest business institutions, carrying a 142-year-old tradition of “doing business with compassion.”
• The 4 virtues of B.Grimm — By marrying profit, progress and social good, Harald Link has found the secret to keeping the oldest companies eternally young.
• Caroline Link | Tatler Thailand

One of the family's last remaining businesses, Eu Yan Sang, a network of Traditional Chinese Medicine dispensaries, was founded by Richard Eu's great-grandfather Eu Kong and the family's fifth generation are still in the business today. This is a gripping story of family politics, loss of control, re-consolidation, an IPO, and ultimately privatisation of the family firm once again.

Standout Quotes:

• “My father told me when I was still studying that I would not expect to be able to work in any of the family businesses after graduation because of the family politics” – Richard Eu
• “If you want to institutionalize the business, it cannot be in family hands forever” – Richard Eu
• “When an institution buys into a business like ours, to a large extent they also buy into the culture that's been set up there by the family and they should be crazy just to lose it” – Richard Eu

Key Takeaways:

• If you want to institutionalize the business, it cannot be in family hands forever
• One of the problems that we had from the 3rd generation was that nobody called the shots, yet because they were individuals they didn't think like as institutions, they just thought about their situations
• When an institution buys into a business, what they should do is preserve the culture and manage it in a modern and efficient way without trying to kill the original culture
• It's not just about financial ratios or balance sheet, you have to bring in the heart
• Good communication helps build trust in the family business
• From Richard to his kids: when I’m dead and gone, they should look at themselves and see if they are on the path that we set off to follow as a family

Episode Timeline:

• [00:48] A brief introduction to Richard Eu, who shares a detailed history of the multi-generational family business
• [08:15] Richard joined the business at 42, although his father did not expect he would be able to work with any of the businesses because of the family politics involving his uncles
• [16:56] About the TCM family business "Eu Yan Sang", with more emphasis on the challenges posed by politics affecting the family business.
• [34:20] Despite all the challenges, the family business experienced consistent growth almost every year.
• [38:20] Richard describes one of the problems that began from the 3rd generation
• [42:01] How two members of the 5th generation joined the family business
• [47:00] Do you have any favorite failure that set you up for success in the family business?
• [50:42] A major learning point for Richard; Communication
• [52:26] From Richard to his kids

*For more episodes go to *
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Richard Eu.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Richard Eu Profile | Endeavor Malaysia Mentors — Richard Eu was appointed to the board as Chairman of the EYSI board on 1st of October 2017.
• Eu Yan Sang International - Official Online Store — A network of Traditional Chinese Medicine dispensaries, was founded by Richard Eu's great-grandfather Eu Kong
• Eu Yan Sang: Healing a Family and Business | INSEAD Case Study — This case and teaching note explore one of Singapore's early entrepreneurs and the family business empire he created.

Standout Quotes:

• “My father raised me with the same belief systems; to be traditional in values but modern in action" - Crystal Lam
• “It's not just experience or skill, it's really just the heart” - Crystal Lam
• "I've always found it to be important to be happy with who you see in the mirror when you wake up every day" - Crystal Lam
• "Know what you stand for" - Crystal Lam

Key Takeaways:

• A crisis or challenge can create the opportunity to show your heart and grit in your family business.
• It's not just experience or skill, it's the heart, so wherever your heart is, you will be great and you want to find people whose hearts beat the way your heart beats.
• You will make decisions your entire life but the way you come to these decisions is rooted in your belief system and your value system.
• If you don't know what you stand for, you will continuously feel conflict which holds you back from being the best version of yourself.

Episode Timeline:

• [01:37] Crystal's journey in the family business started at a young age
• [03:03] Balancing growing up in America (an individualist society) with the expectation of family in Asia (an honor or face-based society)
• [04:57] Crystal describes 3 major obstacles she had to face, working in the family business, and how she overcame them.
• [07:50] The impact of the pandemic on the family business in 2020.
• [13:14] Addressing the challenge of forgetting more sensitive family topics while focusing on the business.
• [19:00] Crystal describes the admirable qualities of her grandmother, narrating a key event that occurred while she was a journalist.
• [21:11] A key failure experienced by Crystal that shaped her journey
• [23:19] The future for Vinawood
• [27:29] Implementing their Father-Daughter forum
• [33:01] A letter from Crystal to her kids: "Know what you stand for"

*For more episodes go to *
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Crystal Lam.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• VINAWOOD LTD. — VINAWOOD are dedicated to accentuating the splendor of nature’s finest element: Wood

Standout Quotes:

• "That's not your board members' primary role; to be experts on your business, they're really there to be a resource for you, a check for you..they also provide a level of protection" – Chris Herschend
• "I hear a lot of family businesses that do not have shareholder agreements in place, and that's a mandatory first step, you've got to have a shareholder agreement before you do anything else" – Chris Herschend
• "You can't trust somebody if you don't know them; you can't know them if you never see them" – Chris Herschend
• "You'd be amazed at what millionaires would do for a $250 plane ticket" – Chris Herschend
• "It's not about you and you are not your own" – Chris Herschend

Key Takeaways:

• Humility and Accountability define the principle behind the business model of a majority independent board for their family-owned company.
• The primary role of your board members is not to be experts in your business, they are there to be a resource, a check, and for protection
• Humility of an owner who wants a true board is so attractive to high-quality board members and business thinkers that they want to be a part of that
• You need to know where you are in the generational business cycle
• The primary role of the board is to be truth-tellers
• One of the hardest things you have to do as a larger family is to define 'Family'
• The simplest most important thing done in their family business is "Gathering"
• Chris emphasizes to his kids that their job is to steward the family business

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] An Introduction to Chris Herschend
• [01:26] The mission of Herschend Enterprises is to create memories worth repeating; Chris shares the history of the company
• [07:26] The day to day operations of the business as a theme park
• [10:10] Chris gives a detailed description of the governing structure of the family business
• [13:30] Reasons behind the business model of a majority independent board for a family-owned company.
• [21:33] The family is constantly around the business but rarely in the business.
• [26:03] Chris describes his role in the family business
• [35:40] The different phases or eras in handling the wealth of the family business
• [48:50] Are there any key resources that your family has invested in to get to where you are today?
• [56:27] A letter from Chris to his kids

*For more episodes go to *
BusinessOfFamily.net

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Special Guest: Chris Herschend.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Herschend Enterprises — Herschend Enterprises is a family of companies who focus on family entertainment. For nearly six decades, Herschend Enterprises has operated with the purpose to bring families closer together by Creating Memories Worth Repeating®.
• Harlem Globetrotters — The Harlem Globetrotters are worldwide icons, synonymous with family entertainment and great basketball skills. The Globetrotters represent 90-plus years of breaking down barriers, acts of goodwill and a commitment to fans that goes beyond the game.
• Herschend Family Entertainment – America's Largest Family-Owned Themed Attractions Corporation — Herschend Family works daily to create wholesome, immersive entertainment experiences with soul and depth. Experiences for every generation of our family. Sometimes thrilling. Sometimes lighthearted. Always distinctive. Their award-winning theme parks, entertainment and attractions aim to inspire happiness and family bonding.

A small angel investment that Dave made in 2005 opened his eyes to an alternative way of supporting seasoned entrepreneurs who wanted to build large, profitable, innovative businesses that they would run privately for their lifetimes. In 2013 he founded The Tugboat Institute, a membership organisation designed to support Evergreen leaders and their companies over the very long term.

"We believe in the vital importance of humans coming together to create and grow enduring, private businesses that make a dent in the universe." - Tugboat Institute

Standout Quotes

• "How do you help a company have good hygiene? A very important component of that is how you develop the family members into the business" - Dave Whorton [31:44]
• "If you feel your company is deeply purpose-driven and meant to have a significant impact for a long time in the world then you do think naturally about it from a standpoint of stewardship" - Dave Whorton [34:04]
• "How can I take this incredible asset and move it forward before handing it over to the next steward?" - Dave Whorton [34:16]
• "I think it's really important to develop a work ethic in your kids, I don't care what level of wealth you have" - Dave Whorton [45:50]

Key Takeaways

• The 7Ps that makes a company evergreen: Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth and Pragmatic Innovation [21:44]
• Entrepreneurs have to be very clear with CEOs about what they want from their investing partners [39:37]
• Dave describes some qualities that he observed to be common among evergreen leaders which mostly include being introverted and humility [23:46]
• Developing a work ethic at a young age is critically important and also exposing them to the importance of saving [46:11]

Episode Timeline:

• [00:48] Mike introduces Dave and tells us a little about him
• [02:06] Dave shares his backstory and work background in more detail
• [17:20] The Tugboat group and how it's evolved over time.
• [21:44] The 7Ps that makes a company evergreen: Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth and Pragmatic Innovation
• [23:46] Dave describes some qualities that he observed to be common among evergreen leaders which mostly include being introverted and humility
• [30:18] How does Tugboat support generational transitions of family members or other closely held businesses?
• [34:04] if you feel your company is deeply purpose-driven and meant to have a significant impact for a long time in the world then you do think about naturally about it from a standpoint of stewardship; How can I take this incredible asset and move it forward before handing it over to the next steward?
• [39:37] Entrepreneurs have to be very clear with CEOs about what they want from their investing partners
• [45:33] Dave shares his thoughts on generational wealth and legacy building in contrast to a focus on the children developing a work ethic and inheriting nothing.
• [49:29] The failure Dave faced that eventually took him on a journey to where he is today.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Dave Whorton.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Seed The Future - Evergreen Movement | Dave Whorton with Tom Bilyeu (IQ50) - YouTube
• Tugboat Institute — We believe in the vital importance of humans coming together to create and grow enduring, private businesses that make a dent in the universe.
• The Tugboat Group — An Alternative Path to Growing Lasting, Private Companies.
• How to Build a Company That Will Last for 100 Years | Inc.com — A growing number of entrepreneurs are ditching the steroid-like growth that comes with outside investment, and building their companies to last.
• Dave Whorton | LinkedIn
• Book: How to Be Rich: Getty, J. Paul — There are plenty of books on making money by men who haven't made much. But if J. Paul Getty, who Fortune magazine called “the richest man in the world,” doesn't know how, who does?
• Book: In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies (Collins Business Essentials) eBook: Peters, Tom — Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful.

Presently, the DelBros Group consist of over twenty subsidiaries and have member companies both locally and internationally ranging in the industries of logistics and transport, technology, and food production.

Standout Quotes

• "We live now in a very globalized world where technology has really reached a point in which it can alter our ways of life. From AI, vertical farming, etc. There has been a real desire to shift out of traditional businesses and to use our traditional businesses in more digitally-savy manners." – Paolo Delgado [5:33]
• "We all believe that the company is in our care for a portion of our lives. During this portion, it's our responsibility to help it thrive and to make sure that it can successfully transition to the next generation. It's not something that we look at to sell, not something we consider 'ours' other than that period of time that we are responsible for it. We have created a very clear understanding on the kind of stewards that we want to be." – Paolo Delgado [7:46]
• "Active stewardship is something that is constantly mentioned in our family meetings. Family representatives in our companies need to very clearly outline parameters for the different management teams that align the actives of the company with the family's approach." – Paolo Delgado [8:13]
• "Documenting the history and the legacy of the family is important in understanding what and who came before us. It reenforces that our strength comes from unity and that we keep our businesses and our family true to their core values. It's knowing that the company and the family need to be challenged and disrupted to avoid stagnation." – Paolo Delgado [17:08]
• "We do a regular pruning. Family businesses I think are looked at as something that should be run and should take care of all of the family members. In our experience, there is nothing wrong with shifting ownership. That usually means buying out family members that are not as interested in the business or perhaps can't contribute as well to the business as others… It has made making decisions easier, it’s allowed us to continue a family business that might have been under threat much sooner.” – Paolo Delgado [27:07]
• "Respect, shared values, the understanding that fairness is not being equal. We want to be fair, not necessarily equal. That nobody owes you anything and that you work for it. That you take a long-term perspective and strategy that decisions at least in the family organization needs to be made over generations rather than five or ten years that you would normally see an organization." – Paolo Delgado [36:43]
• "For me, what's most important for my wife and I, is that our children grow up being happy with the person they have become. My wife and I talk a lot about what we want for our children but ultimately much like the family business we believe we are stewards for them for a portion of our lives. Ultimately they go off and live their own lives and start their own families." – Paolo Delgado [41:03]

Key Takeaways

• Becoming and demonstrating organizational value to remain sustainable in the long term
• Paolo Delgado’s challenging and rewarding entrance into the family business
• The lessons and challenges from the past generations can be the basis for policy and reforms in the family organization of the future
• Some insights from a logistics background on the passion and visions for the future of agriculture
• Three key agreements included in the charter for DelBros Group
• Allowing the family charter to be open to improvements in the future generations
• The sensitive topic of removing family members as a strategy for extending the life of the family organization as a whole
• What Paolo sees as requirements for a successful and harmonious family partnership
• Why fair isn't always equal in the family business

Episode Timeline

• [2:02] The origin story for the Delgado Brothers Group
• [4:31] What DelBros Group current is today
• [7:35] Leadership focus on future success in generational transitions
• [9:08] Paolo’s challenging but rewarding start in the family business
• [16:31] Placing value on the documentation of family history
• [19:21] DelBros Group Investments into the future of agriculture
• [24:10] Personalized but business centered family gatherings
• [25:24] Three agreements included in the Delgado family charter
• [28:02] Why pruning in a family organization can extend the longevity of the business
• [30:45] Clarification on Delgado family opportunities in wealth creation
• [32:28] Paolo’s thoughts on the next generation talent for the family business
• [36:37] Requirements for successful and harmonious family partnerships
• [38:34] The difference between fairness and equality
• [41:03] Paolo’s focus on leading his children to personal happiness and fulfillment

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Paolo Delgado.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Delbros Group — With over 70 years of experience spanning four generations of leadership.
• Delgado Stewardship — Delgado Stewardship: 4 Generations of Delgado leadership
• Delbros ARCHIVES — The Delgado family has a long history with the Philippines and the world: from Generals and entrepreneurs, to statesmen and religious champions.
• Vertical Farming & Agriculture — In a move to revolutionize the process of its food production drive, Delbros introduced the first ever autonomous and vertical aeroponic farms in the Philippines through GOOD GREENS & CO.

Fred Mouawad is described often in the media as a billionaire diamond owner but has also accomplished countless entrepreneurial ventures outside of the family business and offers some key advice on stewarding the next generation.

Standout Quotes

• “We have the inventory; we have the expertise. If we create masterpieces and truly craft extraordinary and position the brand at the very top, then we would be able to build a very niche business. That would stand in the marketplace and have a very clear image.” – Fred Mouawad [12:29]
• “It was interesting to see how we had to reinvent our business and reposition it based on where we thought the world was moving towards. It was an exercise of not necessarily innovation but adaptation and being able to forecast how the markets are going to change over the long run and how us ourselves should prepare for that change.” - Fred Mouawad [14:29]
• “Our responsibility was to guard that heritage. That’s why we call it co-guardians to look after it and start thinking long-term because our job is to look after it for only a certain period of time. It’s a transition from generation to generation.” - Fred Mouawad [24:14]
• “All of the day-to-day is done by professionals. We have a CO for the group, he’s a general manager, for the entire operation. Why did we come up with that model? We came up with this model because we did not want to start blaming each other for executional problems.” - Fred Mouawad [27:16]
• “I think it’s all about preparing the next generation to be the right stewards for the organization and how do you get there? You get there by exposing them to the business, by having them get richer with experience. By exposing them to different elements in the business and outside the business.” - Fred Mouawad [36:26]
• “The best investment I have ever made was investing in myself, investing in my education, and having the courage to gain new experiences. Always being an avid learner. This is what I find the most satisfying, gratifying, and what enables me to do what I do. It’s investing in knowledge and experience and trying to share that with your team.” - Fred Mouawad [50:11]
• “The most important thing that I would want my children to understand is that life is a journey and life requires that they take responsibility. They should keep on stretching themselves by learning, having the courage to try new things, by figuring out how to make the lives of other people better. How can they make a positive impact and how can they always behave based on core values that meet high ethical standards.” - Fred Mouawad [58:43]

Key Takeaways

• The incredible and impactful story of the Mouawad family business
• How standardizing a brand image benefits the scalability of a business
• Mouawad’s mission to craft the extraordinary
• How to prepare the next generation of a successful multi-generational business
• What co-guardianship can mean for a family and the business they run
• Why building relationships with capable people leads to scalable businesses
• How your best investment may be investing in yourself
• Instilling in the future generation the skills to make a positive impact and maintain high ethical standards

Episode Timeline

[1:58] The background of Mouawad’s generational success
[8:01] Modern day Mouawad jewelry business and what it represents
[17:38] High-end masterpieces and being recognized for Guinness World Records
[20:58] The value in business of natural vs synthetic diamonds
[22:39] Preparing the fifth generation of the Mouawad family business
[25:20] The idea of co-guardianship when running a multi-generational business
[29:25] Shaping the next generation for business success
[35:43] Teaching the skills to have another successful generation of Mouawad
[39:26] Formation of family guidelines as family business becomes a family enterprise
[42:27] Fred Mouawad’s entrepreneurial successes
[49:58] What Fred’s best investment was
[51:11] What it means to be a self-described global citizen
[52:47] How to effectively raise motivated children in wealth
[55:35] The transition from full control to family business co-guardianship
[58:24] Fred’s focus on allowing his children to have a positive impact in their life’s journey

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Fred Mouawad.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Magnificent Jewelry and Watches | Mouawad
• Fred Mouawad | Official Website
• Fred Mouawad - Wikipedia
• Forbes Interview with Fred and Pascal Mouawad - YouTube
• Mouawad Miss Universe Crown 2019 - YouTube
• Mouawad & Victoria's Secret | Mouawad — A COLLABORATION TOWARD DARING EXCELLENCE AND BEAUTY
• Mouawad Diamond Impact Fund | Creating value by improving the lives of underprivileged communities in diamond-producing countries to honor the journey of billions of years it takes to form and discover a diamond crystal.
• Synergia One Group of Companies

Implementing family governance rules that “protect the business from the family” has worked out well for Fratelli Cosulich who have successfully transitioned and prospered for six generations.

In this episode, we welcome Tim Cosulich, Tim is the sixth generation CEO of Fratelli Cosulich, an Italian shipping group established in 1857. Across more than 160 years, the Cosulich family has seen numerous changes and weathered many challenges. The Group is involved in most aspects of the shipping industry, has a global footprint across 18 countries, more than 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of 1.8bn USD.

Tim explains why the performance of his family business during World War I and World War II cannot be compared with the current pandemic due to the differences in management and time. He talks about the importance of having family values that are translated into the leadership of the family business while still protecting it.

Listen in to learn the process of hiring family members to be part of a generational family business without promoting conflicts of interest. You will also learn the non-meritocratic governance strategy that is good for the overall success of a family business even with its shortcomings.

Key Takeaways:

• Factors that contribute to the success of a family business
• How to keep a valuable relationship between a family business and the founding family
• How to remove the conflict of interest when hiring family members to become part of the business
• The advantage of building an effective leadership style that ensures all family leaders operate as a team
• How to come up with a structure that helps “protect the business from the family”

Standout Quotes:

• “When we select the next generations, it is important that we focus on those who are motivated by similar things and not necessarily by money.”- Tim Cosulich [14:43]
• “I don’t think the business must be run by family members; I think the business must be run by the best people.”- Tim Cosulich [29:13]
• “If you invest in the wrong businesses, you can destroy your business.”- Tim Cosulich [38:22]
• “If I think about my own life and when and where did I really grow and learn things, it’s mostly in my failures, not my successes.”- Tim Cosulich [44:11]

Episode Timeline:

• [0:04] Intro
• [2:10] Tim narrates the resilient history of his family company that has overcome many challenges.
• [5:38] The impact of the Coronavirus on the shipping business and how they’re handling it.
• [7:24] Why leading by example in a family company is a powerful message as opposed to written values.
• [9:11] He explains why his company’s style of governance ensures the company is protected.
• [11:47] How Fratelli Cosulich keeps its principles and relationship with the family.
  
• [15:59] He explains the process they use in hiring family members and how they were able to eliminate unnecessary rules.
• [19:13] The unique leadership structure that helps the business run smoothly.
• [25:30] The strengths and weaknesses of a non-meritocratic system of leadership that is exercised at Fratelli Cosulich.
• [28:37] Tim paints a possible scenario that would occur if future generations don’t want any involvement with the family business.
• [30:44] Why Fratelli Cosulich has two sets of founders- the ones who founded the physical business and the ones who founded a structure to protect the company.
• [36:16] He explains the advantages and disadvantages of the company’s culture of reinvesting with caution.
• [38:40] Why they do not talk about business at home.
• [43:52] Why Tim wishes minor failures and the spirit of learning for his children in the future.

Relevant Links:

• Fratelli Cosulich

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at newsletter.mikeboyd.com.au

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Tim Cosulich.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

It was Rob who first introduced me to the phrase "The Business of Family" and ignited in me a passion to explore this topic deeply.

The Robson Family approach to structuring their family partnership and stewarding their assets for succeeding generations is some of the best work I've seen in this area. I have no doubt that you'll have many take aways from today's conversation.

Key Takeaways:

• The growth strategies you can employ to sustain and expand your family business
  
• How to apply the two concepts of business of family and family business in your business
• How to make your business a great place to work and entice the family to want to work there
• Learning to let go off your dream for the greater good of future generations
• The importance of putting as much effort in the business of family as the family business

Standout Quotes:

• “We made it a goal to make our business interesting for our children…our children really became great critics of our business and that was pretty tough on the business.”- Rob Robson [16:46]
• “Give as much attention to the business of family as you would to the family business.”- Rob Robson [34:57]
• “Sometimes life isn’t fair but it’s livable and it’s the ability to adapt and change.”- Rob Robson [42:14]

Episode Timeline:
[0:49] Intro
[1:40] He explains how and why he and his wife travel the world sailing 5-7 months a year.
[4:55] He narrates how he and his wife expanded his parent’s grocery business by researching and employing innovations over the years.
[11:01] The two aspects of the business of family and the family business explained.
[14:30] Rob explains how he and his wife made an intentional decision to actively involve their children in their business from a young age.
[16:43] How they made the business an interesting place to work over the last 30 years and how the ownership of the business is distributed across the family.
[19:58] He describes the process of his family counsel partnership and how it works.
[22:47] The four rules of Harvard on the relationship between the family and the family business.
[25:16] The change of generations as time goes by in a family business.
[28:24] Why it is not automatic for a family member to be offered a position in Rob’s business.
[29:04] He explains how they handle the family business’ funding among the family members.
[33:27] How and why they invested in a family business.
[34:55] Lessons you can learn from Rob on how to grow a multigenerational business.
[37:44] He describes his legacy as having put the effort in both the business and the family.
[40:25] Rob shares what he would include in a letter of a life lesson he believes many parents don’t teach their children.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at newsletter.mikeboyd.com.au

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Rob Robson.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Book: Family Wealth - Keeping It in the Family: How Family Members and Their Advisers Preserve Human, Intellectual, and Financial Assets for Generations: James E. Hughes Jr. — The landmark book that changed the way exceptional families think about their heritage, their wealth, and their legacy to future generations.