Generative Value Creative Families in Business

Dennis Jaffe, Ph.D., has been a leading architect of the field of family enterprise consulting and is an acclaimed speaker and workshop leader in programs for business families and financial service firms. Dennis is a research associate at Wise Counsel Research and leads their 100-Year Family Enterprise Research Program. He is also Family Business Scholar at the Smith Family Business Program at Cornell University, a faculty advisor at the Ultra High Net Worth Institute, and a regular contributor to Forbes Leadership channel reporting on cross-generational family business and wealth. His new book is Borrowed from Your Grandchildren: The Evolution of 100-Year Family Enterprises.

Top Takeaways: Generative Value Creative Families in Business with Dennis Jaffe

Generative Value Creative Families in Business
Aesop’s fable- wealth only survives 3 generations
I wanted to study successful multi-generational families
Average net worth of families studied over $800m
This is a story of families, not businesses, the evolution of families
Looking for commonalities among successful families worldwide
Different cultures, similarities in building wealth
Business creators all over the world have similarities
Successful second and third generation companies make a shift to create non-financial value
2^nd and third generation wealth want to do something important
Successful family businesses invest in education and training of the younger generations
Successful multi-generational business families work together, they have family councils, set up foundations and learn together
The 1^st generation doesn’t just tell the 2^nd generation what to do, they listen and learn from the next generation
The 2^nd generation of the business has more innovation; the first generation excels by working harder
The older generation has to change and grow as much as the younger generation
Alliance of elders, advisors and the younger generation
You’re not taught to listen to your kids, you must do it yourself
By the 3^rd generation there isn’t “a” business, there are multiple businesses
These families don’t order people to participate, they make it fun, so they want to participate
Successful families make being active and engaged with the family interesting
The money isn’t yours; it is the family’s. The family is creating wealth
Your job isn’t to subtract from wealth, but add to it