as our fellow traveller and illuminatus profondus Mr. Jozef Lievens rightly illustrates: crisis-times are Borat-style "Happy Times". In spite of gloomy outlooks, the case for family entrepreneurs and business cannot be over-advocated; some arguments to that are:
- reputation of a fambus is better, instantly recognizable and is worth more than gold: when Paul Janssen walked into the room, you knew you were dealing with Janssen Pharma. When Paul Johnson walks into the room, you've got a hard time believing he really belongs to the Johnson & Johnson families...
- experience & closeness to the business is something that is indeed "viral"; daughters watch their fathers work, and get intimate knowledge of products, allies, clients and work ethos; something outsiders have more of a hard time mastering in any case.
- family business can decide around the kitchen table: whereas this is true for many 1st & 2nd generation type fambus, the more "professionalized" you become, increasingly it becomes important to structure the decision making processes (and to leave room for exceptions, leeway etc...)
- a more "learning" company? the implication of potential successors can indeed be at earlier ages, which can cancel out the need for experience
- relations & trust: well there is a 100% self-fullfilling prophecy: trust or go bust
- and the most crucial aspect of all; networking capabilities and linking: Jef strikes the right cord here but difficult to "mandate", "reward" or recognize since soooo intangible and dependent on externalities such as in-bred potential
all in all: go read: www.familiebedrijf.be
Showing posts with label family business(es). Show all posts
Showing posts with label family business(es). Show all posts
2010-11-30
2008-06-27
It takes a kid to turn you into a man
Excellent article by serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, contributor to the FT and who's having his first child later in life. some extracts of note
It takes a child to make a new man of you
By Luke Johnson
Published: June 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 25 2008 03:00
...But becoming a father has a healthy, humanising impact, putting all the stress and ambition into perspective.
And so I have found that the favourite small talk in the 21st century among entrepreneurs is not football - thank God - but discussing one's family, as a civilised contrast to all that wealth accumulation. This is the first generation of New Man executives, whose chief hobbies are not golf and drinking but their children. These business leaders can not only close a sale or raise venture capital but they can also change a nappy, baby-sit and talk knowledgably about schools and exams.
This is a huge behavioural change from their predecessors of the 1960s and 1970s. The old-fashioned boss delegated all child-rearing to women: the wife or perhaps the nanny. He was rarely there for carol concerts or parents evenings - sometimes he was not even there for the birth. He was too busy building a fortune and, in the evenings, socialising with work clients or bankers. But, nowadays, I'm not alone in regularly slipping out of the office early to be home in time for the children's bath and a bedtime story.
Will we make better dads? I hope so. Will it compromise our careers and stunt our material success? Will our children thank us for the extra attention? Who knows?
...Those who marry and have children young face tougher choices. Do they go all-out for success and perhaps miss their children growing up? It is pretty hard to get ahead if you are willing to do only short days and never work at weekends.
...I have met plenty of alpha males who have achieved great things but sacrificed their personal lives along the way. Often they divorced because they were never at home. Sadly, material success tends to come at an emotional price.
... (la question à cent balles)
Should entrepreneurial fathers want their offspring to follow in their footsteps?
Everyone should decide their own path in life, even if there is a family company to inherit. Dynasties and nepotism only work if the candidate has genuine talent and appetite for the role. For those who are the offspring of renowned patriarchs, I advise pursuing a completely different profession, so unfavourable comparisons are impossible. As 19th century humorist Austin O'Malley said:
I was lucky in that my dad taught me to make my own way in the world and believe anything is possible. It is sad that so many captains of industry have a single overwhelming regret: that their father never lived to see them become the conquering hero.
After all, entrepreneurs and children ought to get on well since they are similar in many ways: impatient, self-centred, demanding, enthusiastic, energetic and wilful. At board meetings it can occasionally be difficult to tell them apart. But, perhaps, that is what makes them fun to have around.
The writer is chairman of Channel 4 and runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm
It takes a child to make a new man of you
By Luke Johnson
Published: June 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 25 2008 03:00
...But becoming a father has a healthy, humanising impact, putting all the stress and ambition into perspective.
And so I have found that the favourite small talk in the 21st century among entrepreneurs is not football - thank God - but discussing one's family, as a civilised contrast to all that wealth accumulation. This is the first generation of New Man executives, whose chief hobbies are not golf and drinking but their children. These business leaders can not only close a sale or raise venture capital but they can also change a nappy, baby-sit and talk knowledgably about schools and exams.
This is a huge behavioural change from their predecessors of the 1960s and 1970s. The old-fashioned boss delegated all child-rearing to women: the wife or perhaps the nanny. He was rarely there for carol concerts or parents evenings - sometimes he was not even there for the birth. He was too busy building a fortune and, in the evenings, socialising with work clients or bankers. But, nowadays, I'm not alone in regularly slipping out of the office early to be home in time for the children's bath and a bedtime story.
Will we make better dads? I hope so. Will it compromise our careers and stunt our material success? Will our children thank us for the extra attention? Who knows?
...Those who marry and have children young face tougher choices. Do they go all-out for success and perhaps miss their children growing up? It is pretty hard to get ahead if you are willing to do only short days and never work at weekends.
...I have met plenty of alpha males who have achieved great things but sacrificed their personal lives along the way. Often they divorced because they were never at home. Sadly, material success tends to come at an emotional price.
... (la question à cent balles)
Should entrepreneurial fathers want their offspring to follow in their footsteps?
Everyone should decide their own path in life, even if there is a family company to inherit. Dynasties and nepotism only work if the candidate has genuine talent and appetite for the role. For those who are the offspring of renowned patriarchs, I advise pursuing a completely different profession, so unfavourable comparisons are impossible. As 19th century humorist Austin O'Malley said:
"The worst misfortune that can happen to an ordinary man is to have an extraordinary father."
I was lucky in that my dad taught me to make my own way in the world and believe anything is possible. It is sad that so many captains of industry have a single overwhelming regret: that their father never lived to see them become the conquering hero.
After all, entrepreneurs and children ought to get on well since they are similar in many ways: impatient, self-centred, demanding, enthusiastic, energetic and wilful. At board meetings it can occasionally be difficult to tell them apart. But, perhaps, that is what makes them fun to have around.
The writer is chairman of Channel 4 and runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm
2007-06-18
Asian Family Empires: Clans on the Run
Wacondah is pleased to announce a new entry that will hopefully lead to a very closeknotted string of family business stories & research:
TIMEasia Magazine: Clans on the Run: "As a new generation takes over, Asia's richest business families are being forced to change their cloistered, Confucian ways"
TIMEasia Magazine: Clans on the Run: "As a new generation takes over, Asia's richest business families are being forced to change their cloistered, Confucian ways"
2006-05-12
Family business
"Families are just like pets ... not everybody should own one" (Randel S. Carlock 2006)
International: Family Business Network (includes numerous national chapters)
International Select club - admission condition: exist as a family business for at least 200 years: Henokiens
Europe: European Group of Owner Managed and Family Entreprises
Belgium: Familiebedrijf
Nederland: Centrum voor het Familiebedrijf
International: Family Business Network (includes numerous national chapters)
The Family Business Network (FBN) represents entrepreneurial families in 40 countries. Depending on the countries, family firms account for 50 to 70% of jobs, and they are said to be more reliable employers, due to their long term vision and strong connection with local communities.
International Select club - admission condition: exist as a family business for at least 200 years: Henokiens
Europe: European Group of Owner Managed and Family Entreprises
Belgium: Familiebedrijf
Nederland: Centrum voor het Familiebedrijf
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