I believe that most people who run family businesses want to leave a legacy to their children and grandchildren. But I also believe that most of them don’t understand well enough how important a role family harmony will play in the successful transfer of that legacy.
When I look up the word “héritage” in my Petit Larousse, I find, just below a little drawing of a hedgehog: “1. All the property acquired or passed on by way of inheritance. 2. What one gets from one’s parents, from previous generations.”
I’m currently writing my first book on the subject of business families, and I’m getting close to the end. At the same time, I’m also working on my new website, to clarify what I offer as an advisor to these families. With all the thoughts going through my head on these subjects lately, this week I had what we call in English an “A-Ha Moment”, where, all of a sudden, I realized something for the first time.
In my book, I spend a lot of time on the importance of communication in a family, on the conversations that are sometimes difficult, but that are absolutely necessary so that each person in the family feels included in what’s going on.
In developing my website, my consultant made me work on my personal values, so that I could clearly show who I am, and what I find most important, so that my potential clients understand my personality and can understand how I’ll work with them.
On the question of what families are looking for, the word “legacy” kept coming up. I’m convinced that the vast majority of people in the senior generation of a business family want to leave a fine legacy to their successors.
On the question of what I offer these families, and of the needs and gaps among these families, I kept coming back to the word “harmony”. I’m equally convinced that in a large share of these families, the level of harmony among the people isn’t high enough to support the legacy over the long term.
There it is, my “A-Ha”. To have a legacy that will last, it’s absolutely necessary for family harmony to be strong enough to support the legacy.
I love analogies, and I try to find something you can visualize to better explain my point. So far, the best one I’ve found is that of a camping tent.
When you walk through a campground, you see lots of tents, but what you see is only the fabric of the tents. What you see, the fabric, the outside, to me, is like the legacy.
But imagine for a moment how the campground would look if someone removed the inner supports that keep the tents standing up. Or if you removed the stakes, which are very handy when the wind starts to blow.
The support system, the metal or fibreglass poles that we have to assemble and connect, is essential to the tent working properly. The stakes are also something we shouldn’t forget.
For me, all these elements are like family harmony.
If you don’t take the time, and if you don’t make the effort to set up the support system properly, the tent won’t be of much use.
Those who focus on the size of their legacy, and who neglect harmony in their family, risk disappointing results. If you don’t make the required efforts on the family side, the property and the money you’ve accumulated risk being scattered fairly quickly after your death.
Your legacy will depend on the support that your family harmony can offer to hold it up.
