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A Unique Event on the Family Enterprise Calendar
After well over a decade in the family enterprise field, there are some events on the annual calendar that I try to never miss.
I guess I’m a creature of habit because I show up pretty much every year at a number of events, perhaps because I like to go places where I run into friendly colleagues.
See Where Everybody Knows your Name, and Job
My “big three” are the annual Symposium of FEC (May), PPI’s RendezVous (July) and the FFI Conference (October).
If you search any of those terms on my website, you’ll find a blog after each annual iteration, sort of my “I was here” tag, along with some thoughts and appreciation for that event.
I just returned from one that’s a bit off the beaten path and a bit more niche, but that’s unique and special in so many ways.
The 13th SG-FECC, or Schlesinger Global Family Enterprise Case Competition, just wrapped up in Burlington Vermont, and it was a big hit once again.
Time Flies and the World Evolves
I missed the inaugural edition in 2013, but have attended almost every one of them since, including virtual versions due to you-know-what a handful of years ago.
When I was first invited in 2014, I was a true “newby” to the field, having just completed my FEA studies a few months prior.
The world of family enterprise and my view of it have evolved since then, and the event has continued to make little improvements along the way.
The quality of the students and the experience they get from participating is superb, and playing the part of a judge is also fulfilling, which is why I continue to accept their invitations to take part.
The fact that I can drive there in less than 2 hours, while so many need to carve out travel days to attend also plays a role.
Plus Ça Change…
Let’s start by looking at a few things that haven’t really changed.
(That sub-head above is the first part of the French version of “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.)
No matter where on the planet the teams come from, nor whether they are undergraduates or graduate students, they always present unrealistic timelines for the family governance pieces of their proposed solution to the case.
It never fails.
This time one team suggested getting a family council established and getting a shareholders’ agreement all wrapped up in 3 to 5 months; good luck with that.
The Pre-Meeting of the Judging Panels
Each day while the students are working on their presentations and slide decks, the judges all assemble together in a room so we can do our preparations.
We sit with the teams/panels who will work together and talk about the case as a large group and then as part of our individual judging panel.
This is where I always share that when we leave the room, because we have all “hashed out” the case together, we will feel like we have covered all the bases… but we’ll be wrong.
It never fails that at least one of the teams who we see present will come up with some idea that nobody in the room brought up.
That will never change, nor should it.
My Evolving View of Participants
When I first took part in 2014, my own children were in high school, so the presenters were older than them, and I viewed the participants in an aspirational way, i.e. I hope my kids can be this good.
Now, with my offspring having graduated University years ago, those I am now judging seem so young!
The good news is that the recent introduction of “fast feedback” right after each presentation allows judges to highlight some good points and areas for improvement, right after the Q & A.
Asking these (barely) 20-somethings to avoid addressing people many decades their senior as “you guys” was a welcome opportunity for me.
And The Winners Are….
Congratulations to this year’s winning schools, Bishops University (Canada) in the undergraduate league and Sasin School of Management (Thailand) for the graduate division.
I’m hoping to be back next year.
Every year I leave Burlington with great hope for the future, after witnessing such bright and enthusiastic young people who will surely become great future leaders.
Congratulations once again to Dita Sharma and her huge team of student volunteers.
