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Emergence of the Family Council

The Business of Family
Emergence of the Family Council
By Mike Boyd • Issue #24 • View online
The family council arises when the family becomes too large to be guided directly by a full family assembly and when the complexity and number of people dictate greater coordination of family activities.
Family councils evolve in unique configurations. For example, here is an account of dual family councils in a large fourth-generation family with a large legacy business and many investments:
“We have two large branches of the family descending from two brothers. Both of those have specific family councils, and each one of those councils probably has close to thirty members from two generations. Each council provides a voice for each family member, whether that person is a shareholder or not.
The goals of the councils are to address any family concerns, priorities, and projects that might or might not be connected to the business. That’s to keep the family cohesive, communicating and enjoying each other. It’s also to impart information about the family business and how to be an effective shareholder.
Each of the family councils have their own committees that focus on governance, new ventures, asset management, family activities, and education. The purpose is to foster personal and shareholder development so that everybody’s voice, whether they are shareholders or not, is heard in the council.
Own ownership council comprises the entire shareholder group from both family councils. On top of that, we have a whole family assembly, which comprises all family members from age 16 and spouses. That integrated council is designed to provide meaning and purpose to the family and a vehicle for education and development of family members.
So the ownership council is governing and leading the family’s interest, and the integrated council is about meaning and purpose and education and development. There is also a history committee that preserves photos, video, and newspaper articles on the family. Hopefully, they’ll all be maintained well into the future.”
The above is an extract from the excellent book; Borrowed from Your Grandchildren by Dennis T. Jaffe.

Image from a thought-provoking piece on The Data of Long-lived Institutions.
Image from a thought-provoking piece on The Data of Long-lived Institutions.
Recommended Book:
Disruptive Successor: A Guide for Driving Growth in Your Family Business [Jonathan Goldhill]
Disruptive Successor: A Guide for Driving Growth in Your Family Business [Jonathan Goldhill]
“With 40 percent of family business owners expecting to retire, and many in the next five years, having a coach and a playbook to guide you through the succession is vital. Disruptive Successor gives you the playbook and the coach together.”
–Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)
www.amazon.com  •  Share
This Week's Podcast Episode:
Jonathan is very candid about his experience of inheriting family wealth.
Jonathan is very candid about his experience of inheriting family wealth.
Jonathan Goldhill is an Experienced Coach to Entrepreneurs and Family-Owned Businesses. He states that the dwindling chances of multigenerational success are due in large part to the issues unique to family businesses that are often wrapped up in a tightly woven knot of unspoken plans.
  • Jonathan emphasises the importance of a family business archive as he does not know exactly how his grandfather’s family business was shut down.
  • Business coaching is not about hitting a mass number of people, it’s about the business of the family.
  • The blessing and curse of a trust fund: there’s lots of misinterpretation of younger generations when they inherit that wealth
  • Hard work isn’t always in the form of just long hours and physical toil, it comes from commitment and dedication to improve oneself and be better.
  • One of the downsides of being wealthy is that wealthy people can be very busy at the expense of spending time with children
www.businessoffamily.net  •  Share
If you would like to leave a review for the podcast, this link will prompt you to open iTunes directly where you can leave a comment. Thank you!
Interesting links:
This Japanese Shop Is 1,020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises.
This Japanese Shop Is 1,020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises.
A mochi seller in Kyoto, and many of Japan’s other centuries-old businesses, have endured by putting tradition and stability over profit and growth.
www.nytimes.com  •  Share
The Data of Long-lived Institutions — Blog of the Long Now
The Data of Long-lived Institutions — Blog of the Long Now
Something else that came out of this research is the fact that the length of company’s lives is shrinking at almost one year per year. In 01950, the average company on the Fortune 500 had been around for 61 years. Now it’s 18 years. Companies’ lives are getting shorter.
blog.longnow.org  •  Share
Billionaire Ray Dalio Set to Open Family Office in Singapore
Billionaire Ray Dalio Set to Open Family Office in Singapore
Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, is opening a family office in Singapore to run his investments and philanthropy throughout the region.
www.bloomberg.com  •  Share
Alex Perez
As a first-generation American kid who’d always wanted to escape his embarrassing blue-collar upbringing, the greatest red pill was when I finally penetrated the elite world and realized that my peers, most of whom had come from the finest of families, were utterly mediocre. /1
Stay in touch
Mike Boyd is the co-owner and CEO of the Vroom Group, Founder of Prosura insurance, Investor at Mudbrick Capital, Host of The Business of Family Podcast and an active member of YPO.
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Mike Boyd

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