Very few enterprising families focus on building an owner’s mindset in family members. They are busy working and growing their enterprises (rightly so), which prioritizes and values the management role over the ownership role. Many rising generation family members do not choose the path of ownership but are simply born into it. Given these typical patterns, it is not surprising that there is little focus on valuing and building an educated owner to steward the family’s assets for future generations.
This book serves as a resource and support tool to help enterprising families learn and develop thoughtful, capable ownership by investing in and nurturing an owner’s mindset. This includes building “ownership literacy,” along with a genuine sense of stewardship. It offers a learning structure and approach for each stage of an owner’s development across the lifespan (from earliest years to retirement), taking into consideration the lifecycle stages of the family. The authors make clear that ownership development shouldn’t be confined to earlier ages; any owner at any age can gain ownership-related perspective and skills that can contribute to greater family harmony and business success.
Own It! provides enterprising families and their advisors with examples and practical advice for the promotion of knowledge, skills, and capabilities that incorporate a broad range of topics spanning from personal and interpersonal, to leadership and wealth, to business, ownership, and financial.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction,- Chapter 2. Starting an Owner’s Mindset Early: Young Child (Ages 0-12).- Chapter 3. Forming Leader Identity and Building Business Relationships: Adolescent (Ages 10-20).- Chapter 4. Family Enterprise Participation without Expectation: Emerging Adult (Ages 18-28).- Chapter 5. Embracing Ownership Commitments. Early Adult (25-40 Years).- Chapter 6. Advancing Leadership Capabilities: Middle Adult (Ages 35-65).- Chapter 7. Mentoring While Letting Go: Later Adult (Age 60-100+).- Chapter 8. Becoming a Learning Family.- Chapter 9. Where and How to Start.
About the Authors
Wendy Sage-Hayward is a senior consultant at the Family Business Consulting Group and has been a family business owner for over 25 years. Wendy helps clients navigate the complexities associated with operating and transitioning their family enterprises across the generations through compassionate guidance, meaningful dialogue, and relevant continuity structures that fit their unique needs.
Gaia Marchisio is a family enterprise advisor, educator, researcher, speaker and writer with 25+ years of impact across the globe. Currently Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School, Gaia is the former Executive Director of Cox Family Enterprise Center, Aronoff Professor of Family Business at Kennesaw State University. Passionate about program creation, she develops and delivers innovative educational programs for multigenerational families and their advisors. As a senior consultant, she works with owners, family, executives, boards and family offices on the full range of family-enterprise issues.
Barbara Dartt is a principal consultant for The Family Business Consulting Group, assisting family enterprises in tackling succession, management transitions and appropriate family governance, as well as other opportunities and challenges unique to family-owned businesses.