I realize there may not be widespread empathy for the challenges and issues facing children of wealthy families, and especially children of the so-called 1% – those in the upper 1% of household wealth. However, I would like to give voice to an issue wealthy parents should be thinking about and finding ways to speak to their kids about: the strong bias against children of the wealthy. This does not necessarily mean only the ultra-high net worth or even high Read more »
enterprising families
Family Business Learning Opportunity
I am writing to offer enterprising families a great opportunity for learning and development. The Family Firm Institute (“FFI”) is a professional association for educators, researchers, consultants and allied professionals serving family businesses and wealthy families. In a nutshell, families sharing ownership, management and leadership of shared assets across generations. FFI has study groups around the country and I am part of an active and vibrant group which alternates meeting between Philly and Princeton. Recently we decided to try something new and we invited a Read more »
UVM Global Family Enterprise Case Competition
This coming Saturday, January 16, I am honored to be invited back for the third year in a row to act as a judge for the University of Vermont Global Family Enterprise Case Competition (FECC) . The natural beauty of Burlington, Vermont is a great reason for me to trek up north and when combined with the intellectual stimulation of serious, smart and interesting undergraduate and graduate students competing on 24 teams from top institutions of family business education in 10 countries – it is one of my favorite Read more »
Family Business Questions for 2016
It is that time of year when we tend to look back and review what has transpired, for better or worse, while looking toward the future with the hope of learning from past lessons so we grow going forward. Here are the top two questions I routinely pose to business families. Sometimes I’ll ask these outside of any specific context simply to see how families respond. Other times I’ll ask as families are struggling with a very specific challenge: How Read more »
Family Business in Flight
I was recently flying with my wife and we were discussing how hard the flight attendants worked and how rude some passengers on flights can be. I worked as a waiter in college and grad school which has much of the stress of being a flight attendant with much more space to move around easily in order to get the job done and also to escape rude people! The kitchen can be a safe haven (unless the chef is in Read more »
Birthing a Family Business CEO
So, you’ve found a way to procreate and give birth to offspring particularly well suited to becoming a CEO – specifically, able to take over your family’s [enter type of business here] business. This child has been born with all the necessary skills to take over and grow a business in your industry. How exactly does this happen? Does the Kama Sutra give direction in special acts to obtain this result? Is there a laboratory DNA intervention that can effect Read more »
Raising a Two-Year-Old Millionaire: Please, Thank-You, I’m Sorry and the Golden Sippy-Cup Rule
For legacy families and financially successful business families thinking about having kids or actively raising them, there are almost always concerns about children becoming spoiled, lazy, self-absorbed and – the grand fear of all – entitled. Truth is, pretty much every parent wants to avoid these things -regardless of financial resources. What poor, working-class and middle-class parents have on their side is the fact that there is simply not enough money for kids to do nothing at all. Wealthy families, Read more »
Thanksgiving, Family Legacy and Gratitude (Year-Round)
About twenty years ago my grandfather was ninety and I had never heard the full story of how he came to the U.S. My dad had told me some of the saga but he did not know the whole story. I let my parents know how much hearing the full story from Grandpa’s mouth meant to me and we took a plane to West Palm Beach (no big surprise on that location for a former NY Jew) with video camera Read more »
Snow Shoveling & Leadership Development
Winter is approaching and snow will soon be upon us. Last winter my 15-year-old son Jeremy was feeling industrious and decided to make some money shoveling in the neighborhood. We have him pay for his iPhone and the monthly data charges so cash is essential – a great way to combat entitlement and help him understand the value of a buck. I watched out the window as he and his slight and not-so-athletic buddy headed out in over a foot Read more »
The Emperor is Naked!
In Hans Christian Anderson’s classic, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” a couple of shady tailors convince the king that they can make him the finest clothes and that those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent will not be able to see the clothes at all. They pretend to dress the king in these “invisible” clothes and he pretends to see them as he surely does not want to seem an unfit ruler. In his parade he marches naked Read more »