This time of year presents a great opportunity to bring your family together. Why? First and foremost, to demonstrate and reinforce that family and good relations are so important to you.

Ah, the summer holiday season approaches. A time of hope and expectations and sometime disappointments, maybe even a little rest. You can set the familial tone by bringing your purposeful message to the family at this time.  What is your message?  That really depends on where you are in your succession plan.

I am working with two families. The first, who are well advanced into the 2nd generation transition/succession, get together to share ideas, discuss the future and assess the state of the business.  It is not all about business though as they all share one passion, dining in fine restaurants.  In this family’s case, most, if not all of their family meetings take place at their restaurants of choice.  The second family is just embarking on their succession plan. For them, the holiday season is a time when the family all gathers back home, many of them being far flung for school or just living.  Their conversations are all about the current business and its history of how it got to the successful level at which it currently operates.  This was not without some diligent work from the current 2nd generation owners.

May your reflections on the summer upcoming bring you fresh ideas and some new approaches.

Learn, think, apply!