‘But Why Did You Send Me To Uni?’
“I don’t understand. I’ve just spent the last five years studying, landed my dream job and now you want me to come back into the family business, why?”
It seems that across all cultures that the Baby Boomers generation encouraged their children to go out and get a good education and work experience. And in many cases, they didn’t encourage them to see the family business as a potentially great career opportunity.
The outcome is frustration across many next generation family members as to why they were pointed in one direction and then pulled back.
This is perhaps most prevalent where the children have gone overseas to study. They have experienced a new life outside the family, possibly for the first time, and developed dreams of what their lives could become. And now what? Their disappointment often seems to be exasperated in many instances when they ‘dutifully’ come home to the family business to find that there is no real job or role for them. The reality is likely to be that the family simply wanted them home. They struggle to assimilate initially but really they struggle to see where their careers are now going. Their discussions with the family as to where they fit in the business, what responsibilities they hold, what their career path is, falls not only on deaf ears, but onto those that don’t understand the questions or the impatience. ‘Aren’t you just happy to be back with the family?’ and ‘We will find something for you to do in the business’, are among the thoughts going through your elders’ minds.
This disconnect between the elder and next generation is real, can break families and undermine any real prospect of succession and the compounding of wealth that comes with it.
There are real tangible personal and financial benefits that come from owning and operating your own business, and it is vital that families recognise and speak positively about the opportunities that can exist and be created. It is also vital that families learn to speak openly about expectations and needs in creating and supporting their children’s future.
The skill to have open conversations often rests with the next generation and they need to explore how to build this new type of relationship with their parents.
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An Invaluable Resource — ‘Transition — Orienteering The Lands of Succession’
