hubler

Survey Test

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Thank you for visiting our survey page. Click here to take survey

Email Submit Success

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Thank you for subscribing to the Hubler for Family Business newsletter. You will be hearing from us soon.

If you would like to contact Hubler for Family Business directly, please use our contact form. Thank you.

Assessment

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Submit Success

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Your submission was successful. We will respond as soon as possible.

Feel free to call us at 612.375.0640.

Thank you.

Site Map

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Contact

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Hubler for Business Families would love to hear from you.

Questions about our seminars? Concerns about families in business? Interested in how we can help you or someone you know? Contact Hubler for Business Families to learn more and for free resources.

80 South Eighth Street
Suite 900
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 375-0640
email: contact@thehublergroup.com

Please complete the contact form below:
Thank you for your interest in Hubler for Business Families.

Privacy Note: All contact information obtained through the Online Contact Form will only be used to process your request. We will not sell, rent, lend or otherwise distribute your contact information or use it for any other purpose.

Home

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Recent Articles and News
More articles can be found in Ownership Planning, Management and Leadership, Business Planning and Family Planning

test

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

test

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Tom Hubler Interview with Southwest Initiative Foundation

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Interview with Kurt Thompson - Southwest Initiative Foundation

Video - Legacy & the Last Challenge of Entrepreneurship

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Tom Hubler's presentation to the Edina Rotary Club - March 3, 2011

October Proclaimed Family Business Awareness Month

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have declared October 2010 as Family Business Awareness Month in Minnesota. According to this proclamation and Family Business, 90% of the businesses in the United States are family owned, underscoring their importance to the state and national economy.

Text of the Proclamation:

State of Minnesota Proclamation

Whereas: Family businesses are critical to the success of our state and national economy; and

Whereas: Family businesses enhance our communities by providing stable, trustworthy services; and

Whereas: According to Family Business, 90 percent of the businesses in the United States are family businesses, and create 86 percent of all new jobs in the United States; and

Whereas: Family businesses generate 49 percent of the gross domestic product, and employ 80 percent of the U.S. workforce; and

Whereas: Of Fortune 500 companies, 37 percent are family controlled, and 60 percent of all publicly-held U.S. companies are family controlled; and

Whereas: Cargill, with its headquarters in the State of Minnesota, is the largest family business in the United States.

Now, Therefore, I, TIM PAWLENTY, Governor of Minnesota, do hearby proclaim the month of October 2010, to be

Family Business Awareness Month in the State of Minnesota.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Minnesota to be affixed at the State Capitol this 14th day of October in the year of our Lord two thousand and ten, and of the State the one hundred fifty-second.

Tim Pawlenty, Governor

Mark Ritchie, Secretary of State

On The Air - The Peter McClellan Show

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Tom Hubler was interviewed on The Peter McClellan Show discussing the impact family businesses have on the country's economy and the challenges facing family business. Listen here.

Published Articles

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

A pioneer in family business consulting, Tom Hubler has authored many articles drawn from experience in his practice and study. We've gathered a few of Tom's most insightful and illuminating pieces in PDF form for you to read and enjoy.

Perpetuating The Family Business
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - September 2009
This article discusses the role of the non-family manager in a family business, which sometimes can be a tricky one. The non-family manager position requires someone with strong business skills and at the same time, he or she must be an effective coach and teacher for the next generation and is required to manage the politics of the family and not get caught in the middle.

Family Business In Uncertain Economic Times
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - May 2009
This article highlights the importance of having a business plan. When it comes to tough economic times family businesses are not exempt from the impact - it is all around us. Business has to be conducted just a little bit differently. The key is to success in tough times is have a plan. One of my mentors, the late Bill Knowlan used to say, "A plan that is not working is better than no plan at all." This is certainly true in today's environment. My hope is that you will create a plan to manage for success in these tough economic times.

I Wish We Could Have Had This Conversation Before We Married
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - March 2009
The article focuses on one of the most painful issues I come across in my work with family-owned businesses having to do with the in-laws joining the family business. As a result of a new family member not understanding the expectations of the family in regards to their role, frustration and hurt feelings occur. Entering a new marriage and entering a family is always a challenge, but in the context of a family-owned business it is even more challenging.

The Last Challenge Of Entrepreneurship - Part IV
Part IV is the fourth and final of a series of four articles written by Tom Hubler that focus on the topic of succession planning.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - January 2009
This article focuses on service and philanthropy and the role these play with an entrepreneur. From my perspective, it is the responsibility of the entrepreneur to coordinate and sponsor these events with their family, including their adult children, spouses and grandchildren.

The Last Challenge Of Entrepreneurship - Part III
Part III is the third of a series of four articles written by Tom Hubler that focus on the topic of succession planning.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - November 2008
This article focuses on the question of finding a replacement for an entrepreneur, and is truly a vexing question in the context of family businesses. From my perspective, it is almost impossible to select a replacement - the only way to do that is to have the entrepreneur to become an architect or designer of the new system. The new system includes governance, as well as the leadership system within the business. It is a daunting task for many entrepreneurs, but for those who have implemented active boards of directors with outside advisors the results speak for themselves.

Top

The Last Challenge Of Entrepreneurship - Part II
Part II is the second of a series of four articles written by Tom Hubler that focus on the topic of succession planning.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - September 2008
This article is a continuation of the discussion on the last challenge of entrepreneurship. It focuses on legacy and the non-financial aspects of legacy that, according to an Allianz study, are 10 times more important then the financial aspects of inheritance. With that thought in mind, I encourage you to pursue and fine-tune your legacy.

The Last Challenge Of Entrepreneurship - Part I
Part I is the first of a series of four articles that focus on the topic of succession planning.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - July 2008
Letting go and saying good-bye to our careers is something that is difficult for all of us. It is particularly difficult in the context of a family business where owner-entrepreneurs have devoted a major and significant portion of their work life to their company and career. The stress of this period can be alleviated by planning and using it as an opportunity to redefine your role in the company. From my perspective, entrepreneurs don’t have to leave their companies; they just need to change their job descriptions.

Selling The Family Business - What About The Boss?
This article explores the B.O.S.S. concept for family business management.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - May 2008
One of the more perplexing questions for family businesses is what to do when there are either no children or children who are not interested in the family business. In this case, the option of selling is always a consideration, but many times the decision to sell can be an emotionally wrenching one. This article explores how to use the B.O.S.S. concept to discover how to proceed.

Family Business Leadership - Part III
Part III is the third in a series of three articles that focus on the topic of family business leadership.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - March 2008
This is the final segment in a series of three articles I have written on leadership. The article discusses the integration of emotional intelligence into the leadership process. Effective leadership basically integrates the notion of somantics into the leadership process. I believe somantics is one of the keys to fully developing your emotional intelligence, which has to do with the awareness of self and others.

Top

Family Business Leadership - Part II
Part II is a series that focuses on the topic of family business leadership.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - January 2008
This article discusses the importance of leaders to integrate their mind and body, and how we need to "embody" our leadership. The concept of "embodiment" is one that Richard Strozzi-Heckler of the Strozzi Institute located in Petaluma, California, uses in his workshops and leadership training programs.

Family Business Leadership - Part I
Part I in a three-part series on the topic of leadership in the business family.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - November 2007
One of the myths in family owned businesses is that leaders are born, not made. Tom's belief is that leaders can be successfully trained and developed. This series will begin with a discussion of the three C's, and subsequent articles will discuss the integration of mind and body, as well as emotional intelligence.

Healthy Families
Part II of the series on the characteristics of healthy families.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - September 2007
Tom Hubler makes the case for building the emotional equity of your family, not only for the sake of the family, but also for the sake of the business. Research indicates that families that attend to family matters not only have closer families, but also experience businesses that are more profitable.

Happy Families
Part I in a two-part series on a trio of characteristics that create healthy families.
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - July 2007
One of the distinguishing characteristics about successful family businesses is that their success is due, in large part, to positive healthy family relationships. Consequently, healthy family relationships positively influence the culture of family businesses and create a significant impact on the culture of the business. As a result, healthy family relationships impact the bottom line of family businesses.

Rock Solid
Creating a strong family foundation on which to build your business
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - May 2007
This article discusses what you, as families in business, need to have to be a successful family business. This article also discusses benchmarks for family businesses to use in evaluation of where they stand in regards to the infrastructure of a successful family business.

Top

The Powers That Be
Understanding the give and take of sovereignty in family business
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - March 2007
This article discusses the issue of sovereignty. Powerful parents in the family business often bring their clout as business leaders into the family and inadvertently threaten the authority of their adult children. By the same token, adult children may be reluctant to share their concerns because of the working relationship with their parents. This article sheds some light on this dynamic and creates an opportunity for members of family businesses to clarify their expectations.

Coming Into Money
Preparing your children for a lifetime of wealth
Thomas M. Hubler
Article from Minnesota Business - January 2007
Most families address wealth education with their children as they do sex education - they avoid it. The reality being that if you, as a parent, wait and talk to your children later, there will be a certain set of issues to address. On the other hand, if you talk with your children early and prepare them, there will be an entirely different set of issues. The questions you must ask are which set of issues would you rather contend with, and which set of issues will provide you with the greatest opportunity to influence and guide your children? I believe there is a definite benefit in talking with your children early on, especially in the context of your family and your family?s values, as it will help prepare them for the responsibilities associated with having wealth.

Emotionally Speaking
Thomas M. Hubler
Exploring the poignant points of passing the torch.
Article from Minnesota Business - September 2006

Rites Of Passage
Thomas M. Hubler
Setting expectations and criteria for next generation
leaders is essential.
Article from Minnesota Business - March 2006

Show Them The Money
Thomas M. Hubler
Teaching the next generation how to handle wealth.
Article from Minnesota Business - January 2006

The Forest For The Trees
Thomas M. Hubler
To enjoy the holidays - keep family business at work. By talking too much about the business during family celebrations you could inadvertently alienate family members not actively involved in the business.
Article from Minnesota Business - November 2005

The Price Of Peacekeeping
Thomas M. Hubler
Small problems ignored become very large problems.
Article from Minnesota Business - July 2005

Forgiveness As An Intervention In Family-Owned Business: A New Beginning
Thomas M. Hubler
This article explores the notion of bringing a family business's family values and traditions regarding religion and forgiveness into their everyday lives to create healing when family business differences have broken or severed family relationships.
Article from Family Business Review - June 2005

Family Circles Of Influence
Thomas M. Hubler
The importance of defining expectations
Article from Minnesota Business - March 2005

Ties That Bind
Thomas M. Hubler
How to keep the "family" in family business
Article from Minnesota Business - January 2005

Top

An Article by Thomas M Hubler
This is an electronic version of an article published in Family Business Review. Complete citation information for the final version of the paper, as published in the print edition of Family Business Review.

Ten Most Prevalent Obstacles To Family Business Succession Planning
By Thomas M. Hubler
In a recent presentation at the University of St. Thomas Center for Family Enterprise Family Business Forum, John Davis, family business consultant, researcher and educator, commented that everything consultants like himself teach, their clients already know. In order to be successful, they need to confront or deal with the obstacles. Of course, the first question that popped into my mind was: What are those issues? As I looked back over my practice, I began to identify some common obstacles. But, before I name these obstacles for discussion, I will describe the context in which I work with my clients.

Family Business Consultants As Leaders
By Thomas M. Hubler
Working with family businesses as a consultant is one of the most awesome responsibilities I can imagine. It incorporates managing family issues and concerns as well as business issues and concerns and the interrelationship between the two. The impact of choices made by the consultant can have far-reaching effects for both family and business that can impact generations of family members.

Plan Now To Ensure A Successful Transition...Later
It's important to understand what makes ownership and management transitions in family-owned businesses so challenging: the overlap between two separate and distinct organizations-the family and the business. Tom Hubler examines the family and business and offers four key strategies for creating balance between family and business.

Top

Tom Hubler DVD

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

We've gathered some of the key thoughts from Tom Hubler's insightful DVD for you to view. Tom's command of family business consulting isn't easily reduced to sound bites. So, to fully appreciate his thoughts on the subject, we recommend you view his 88-minute DVD, "My Life and Work, My Soul and My Legacy," available for $99.00.

View Tom's insights into:

Family Business Management	Conflict Resolution
Succession Management	Family Legacy
Family Business Consulting	A Key Belief of Tom Hubler
A Constructive Perspective for Conflict Resolution	The B.O.S.S.
Kything	The Importance of Understanding

Receive Tom Hubler's DVD, My Life and Work, My Soul and Legacy, by mailing a check made out to Hubler for Business Families for $29.95 to:
80 South Eighth Street
Suite 900
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Specialists

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

In our consulting work, we've found that occasionally, family owned businesses have the need of professional advice in very specialized areas, areas beyond our core expertise. For them, we have recommended some of the businesses we've successfully worked with in our 30 years of consulting.

The Le Van Company's Transition Advisory Service that helps business families discover good answers to tough questions.

The business philosophy of Rauenhorst Recruiting Company is simple and effective. "We help your company achieve its strategic goals by providing the key talent and consultative assistance required to be successful."

Wealth Management Consultants, Inc. (WMC) provides fee-only financial counseling to corporate executives, wealthy individuals and family business owners internationally.

Executive Coaching
Gary Cohen at CO2 Partners helps new and established leaders achieve peak performance for themselves and for the organization they are taking to new heights. This is done through a combination of business coaching, consulting and training. CO2 Partners also offers executive search services for clients.

Ask Don't Tell Leadership
This is a leader to leader forum of learning how to move from being a leader to becoming an exceptional leader. Explore how leaders can use questions to move an organization to its end goal while inspiring, motivating, building trust, empowering, teaching, guiding and not telling. It is about everyday leadership!

Perfect Biz Match
PERFECT BIZ MATCH is a road map to help managers navigate in today's complex and challenging business environment and steer their organizations on a path to success. Created by The Jack Tesmer Institute which is headquartered in Minneapolis and is comprised of executives, researchers, and educators - all committed to helping business survive and thrive in today's turbulent markets. The Jack Tesmer Institute is an "assessment" company, dedicated to developing and delivering reliable and valid assessments of the competitive market position of products and services.

Based on Jack Tesmer's book, the Free PBM assessment is the cornerstone of a dynamic block of well tested assessment offerings.

Minnesota Family Business Awards
Hubler for Business Families has partnered with Minnesota Business Magazine to create the annual Minnesota Family Business Awards.

Nominate an Outstanding Family Business for the 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards.

Resources

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

We encourage you to make use of these resources for family owned businesses. The expert information and guidance they offer can prove useful for any family business, regardless of the issues it's facing. We've divided the resources for family owned businesses into three categories: insightful articles by Tom Hubler, a DVD entitled My Life and Work, My Soul and My Legacy and links to specialists who've worked with us and our clients.

CONSIDER TOM'S INSIGHTS, TALK TO A SPECIALIST.

Both Tom Hubler's published articles and his interviews broadcast via electronic media are fine resources for the family owned business because they contain unique insights Tom has gained throughout his distinguished career.

Tom Hubler's published articles and broadcast interviews.

We've also collected clips from Tom Hubler's DVD, My Life and Work, My Soul and My Legacy.

As family business consultants, we sometimes call on the expertise of specialists in various fields to help our clients. We offer links to their websites as a resource to your family business. Specialists in areas of interest to family businesses

To learn more, email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

2011 MN Family Business Award Honorees

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:48:07 GMT

Congratulations to the 2011 Minnesota Family Business Award Honorees!

Mort and Alice Mortenson of MA Mortenson Company receiving the global award

Jones Metal receiving the women-led company award

Bruce Steiner of Ameriprise receiving the legacy award

Bastian family of Angie's Kettle Corn receiving the emerging award

Jacobson Family of Pinetree Orchards receiving the family-focused award

Educational Symposium Crafting a Successful Entrepreneurial Legacy

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

In conjunction with the Minnesota Family Business Awards, join us for an informative and interactive afternoon of expert panels. We will share the experience and knowledge of three Minnesota multi-generational companies that have celebrated 100 years of business. And, we'll tap into local experts on how to successfully craft a lasting entrepreneurial legacy.

Thursday, November 10, 2011, 1 - 5 p.m.
Registration: 1:00 p.m.
Millennium Hotel Minneapolis
1313 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN

100 Years: Adapt, Grow, Flourish 1:30 - 3 p.m.
Panelists:
Dr. Ritch Sorenson, University of St. Thomas Family Business Center, Moderator
Dale Bachman, Bachman’s Inc*
Ted Marti, August Schell Brewing Company*
Richard Murphy, Murphy Warehouse Company*

Legacy and the Last Challenge of Entrepreneurship 3:15 - 3:45 p.m.

Family Business: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach 3:15 - 4:45 p.m.
Panelists:
Susan Albrecht, Bremer Bank
Heidi Peterson, Chaffee & Associates, LLC
Sally Grossman, Gray Plant Mooty
Farley Kaufmann, Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP
Dr. Ritch Sorenson, University of St. Thomas

Please note: Panelists are subject to change.

Following the educational symposium, please join us for the 2011 Minnesota Family Business Awards at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

For tickets, please contact Kristie Altstatt at 612-336-9288 or kaltstatt@tcbmag.com.

*2010 Minnesota Family Business Award Winners

2011 MN Family Business Awards Ceremony

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Join us on November 10, 2011 when we honor five outstanding family-owned businesses and the value they add to Minnesota's economy and overall quality of life.

2011 Honorees

Company	Category
AmeriPride Services, Inc.	Legacy
Angie's Kettle corn	Emerging
Jones Metal Products, Inc.	Women-led
M. A Mortenson Company	Global
Pine Tree Apple Orchard	Family-Focused

Top Finalists
JNBA Financial Advisors
Liberty Diversified International
Madden's on Gull Lake
Mrs. Gerry's Kitchen Inc.
Sparboe Farms, Inc.

Thursday, November 10, 2011
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
1300 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN

Registration & Cocktail Reception: 5:30-6:30pm
Dinner: 6:30-7:30pm
Awards Program: 7:30-9:30pm

Individual tickets - $100
Tables of eight - $800
Corporate Table Sponsorships Available

For tickets, please contact Kristie Altstatt by November 3 at 612-336-9288 or kaltstatt@tcbmag.com.

Platinum Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors:

Recognizing the Best in Minnesota Family Businesses

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Some background from the founder of the Minnesota Family Business Awards: Tom Hubler

To be recognized as a Minnesota Family Business of the Year has blossomed from an unknown to a prestigious award in the years since its inception. It has grown in participation, number of nominations, community interest, stature and value. Previous year's applicants represent a multifaceted picture of family business approaches and industries.

I want to share with you the five criteria and best family business practices the selection committee will use to determine the award choices. It may prompt you to nominate a business or compare these winning ways to your own family business.

Each previous finalists demonstrated leadership and excellence in these five aspects:

1. Business success. How adept was the business at growth, job creation, profitability and organizational culture? Business success was a fundamental, but not primary, criteria.

2. Family participation in the business. How many family members are employed or involved in the business? How many generations are involved in the business? What are the family's business values and stewardship principles?

3. Positive family business structure. Does the business family conduct formal family meetings or have a family council? Does it include a separate family vision statement and a formal family participation plan to train and develop the next generation of family leaders? Is there a succession plan with the structures to implement it?

4. Active board. Does the business have an active board of directors that includes outside advisors or members (not just a legal, but an active board)?

5. Community service and philanthropy. Does the family business give back? Does it excel in its leadership?

Family businesses are extraordinarily important to free enterprise, job creation and the recovery of Minnesota's economy. We appreciate and thank everyone who participates in and supports family businesses and this award ceremony.

2011 MN Family Business Awards Nominations

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Twin Cities Business and Hubler for Business Families honor five outstanding family-owned businesses, and the value they add to Minnesota's economy and overall quality of life.

If you know about a successful Minnesota family-owned business and the family behind it - and yes, it could be a client of yours, or even your own company - please share it with us. Learn more about the judging criteria.

Nominations Due By May 12

Click Here for a nomination form (submission details on the form) or call 612-336-9288 for more information.

The awards are presented through a partnership between Tom Hubler, CEO, Hubler for Business Families, and Twin Cities Business magazine.

Platinum Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors:

Images of 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

As a proud sponsor, we are pleased to offer this image gallery of the 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

2010 Minnesota Family Business Award Winners

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Congratulations to the following 2010 Minnesota Family Business Award Winners!

Congratulations to Bill Monson!
Winner of the 2010 Hubler Award for Excellence in Service to Family Businesses which acknowledges professionals serving family businesses for their superior practice, commitment, support and dedication to the success of family businesses and the people behind them. The award also recognizes the recipient's commitment to professional collaboration, using a family systems perspective, and the value of a multidisciplinary approach to serving families in business.

Congratulations to Evolve Systems!

The special recognition for Commitment to the Entrepreneurial Family is unique in that it stretches beyond those family members currently working in the business; seeking to make entrepreneurship part of the family's identity, which is exactly what this year's family business has done by involving their teenage son in a significant role in the business.

Congratulations to Western Bank!

The Economic Development special recognition endeavors to highlight a business that helps companies survive longer and become more financially viable. The winner of this award maximizes stakeholders' value, which, in turn, helps their customers and our communities.

Congratulations to Homes for Heroes!

The Social Entrepreneurship special recognition is awarded to a company that was started with one thoughtful question and, in turn, created an insightful business that helps others and gives back.

Congratulations to Coborn's!

Commitment to Community Service special recognition is awarded to this next company because it really is the way they've been doing business for years. This company truly does give back to their employees, their community and numerous nonprofits.

Congratulations to Warners' Stellian!

Emerging Family Businesses range from start-up to first-, second- or even third-generation Minnesota businesses that are beginning the process of developing a solid family business foundation and infrastructure. Policies, procedures and templates for conducting business are in the infant and formation stages. They started their businesses with ideas that will fill the needs of the marketplace and have the potential for a long sustainable history.

Congratulations to:
August Schell Brewing Company, Bachman's, Murphy Warehouse!

Legacy Family Businesses are maturing Minnesota based businesses that have transitioned through two, three or more generations of family members who have been active in the business. These successful family businesses have a stable infrastructure of business practices. They are also committed to training and equipping future generations of family members for the purpose of succession and growth. Legacy family businesses because of their age have formalized many of the best family business practices related to governance, family participation and regular family meetings that balance the relationship between their family and business. Minnesota is fortunate to several of these amazing companies right here. That's why this year we are thrilled to have three winners in this category.

Congratulations to all winners and thank you to all who participated in this amazing event. We look forward to next years' awards!

2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards Finalists

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Hubler for Business Families, in partnership with Minnesota Business Magazine, is pleased to announce the distinguished list of finalists for the 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards. The eight finalists were chosen from more than 50 of Minnesota's premier family businesses by an impartial selection committee after review of their well-wrought application packets:

Bachman's
Coborn's
Evolve Systems
Homes for Heroes
Murphy Warehouse Company
Schell's Brewing Company
Warners' Stellian
Western Bank

The 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards will be conducted Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at International Market Square, 275 Market Street
Minneapolis, MN 55405. Registration and seating begin at 6:30 pm with dinner served at 7:00 pm. Ticket purchasing information.

Presented by

The Minnesota Family Business Awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding Minnesota-based family businesses, and promoting the considerable value family businesses bring to the state's economy and quality of life.

The awards were established through a partnership between Tom Hubler, CEO/founder, Hubler for Business Families, and Minnesota Business magazine.

The first Minnesota Family Business Awards event took place in October 2008 at the James J. Hill Reference Library in St Paul. In that inaugural year there was a single winner, The Harry G. McNeely, Jr. family, and their company, Meritex Enterprises.

In 2009, the event moved to the McNamara Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota, and attendance more than doubled. In fact, everything about it was bigger. The pool of nominations was exponentially larger, the selection committee grew, as did the sponsors.

That list included Bremer Bank, Gray Plant Mooty, Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP, the University of St. Thomas, the James J. Hill Library; Aureus; Chaffee & Associates; LAZARD Middle Market and Brooks Family Business.

The number of awards given was expanded as well. There was the Legacy Award and Emerging Growth Award, plus, three special recognition awards; Global Market, Community Commitment and Female Executive.

Minnesota Family Business Seminars

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

If you are part of a family business or are involved with a family business, then these seminars are for you.

As part of our Minnesota Family Business Awards celebration, we will lead special family business seminars. The topics will be informative, educational and timely for anyone involved with a family business. The seminars are free of charge.

Leveraging Family in your Business	"Can't We All Just Get Along?"
Have you considered the value that your family members can bring to the business? This workshop will address how to leverage that value. We will view the competencies associated with family business to build a solid foundation for growth. Sponsored by University of St. Thomas. Thursday, April 21st, 2010 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. University of St. Thomas, Terrance Murphy Hall room 460 1000 Lasalle Avenue, Minneapolis Register at minnesotabusiness.com	COUNSELING FAMILY/ CLOSELY-HELD BUSINESSES: How to Plan for the Future and Avoid Litigation. Sponsored by Gray Plant Mooty. Thursday, April 29th 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Gray Plant Mooty offices, 500 IDS Center, 80 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis Register at minnesotabusiness.com
Family Business: Managing To Multiple Bottom Lines	Unraveling Family and Business So You Can Succeed at Both!
Successful family owned businesses manage to multiple bottom lines. In addition to the traditional metrics employed by other businesses, they set and monitor metrics related to governance and wealth and estate planning like transfer of ownership. Sponsored by Lurie Besikof Lapidus, LLP. Thursday, May 13th 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Lurie Besikof Lapidus, LLP offices 2501 Wayzata Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55405 Register at minnesotabusiness.com	Unraveling family business entanglements will focus on creating the necessary structures to assist your family business in achieving success as a business and maintaining family harmony. Sponsored by Hubler For Business Families. Thursday, May 20th 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Lurie Besikof Lapidus, LLP offices 2501 Wayzata Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55405 Register at minnesotabusiness.com

2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

The Minnesota Family Business Awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding Minnesota-based family businesses, and promoting the considerable value family businesses bring to the state's economy and quality of life. The awards were established through a partnership between Tom Hubler, CEO/founder, Hubler for Business Families, and Minnesota Business magazine.

Nominate an Outstanding Family Business
Is one of your best customers or vendors a family business that should be celebrated? Do you work for a family business that epitomizes what it means to be a family business? Are you a civic leader who knows of a family business that has made a meaningful contribution in your community?

If so, we invite you to pay them proper homage and nominate the deserving business for the 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards. Applications will cover business success, family involvement in the business, community involvement, family and business governance and succession planning.

Minnesota Family Business Awards will be given in the following categories:
Legacy Award
The Legacy Award is designed for maturing Minnesota-based family businesses that have transitioned through two, three or more generations of family members who have been active in the business.

Emerging Award
The Emerging Award is designed for family businesses ranging from startup to first generation Minnesota businesses that are beginning the process of developing a solid foundation and infrastructure.

Areas of Special Recognition will also be awarded.

Why the Fanfare Around Family Business?
Because family businesses are a vital piece of our economy and an important part of the fabric of our communities. We want to lead the way in lifting up those family businesses that do it best, and celebrate their success, contributions and achievements.

Did you know family firms in the U.S....

Account for 64% of the gross domestic product?
Comprise 33% of the S&P 500 list?
Employ 80% of the work force?
Create 86% of all the new jobs?
Pay 65% of the total wages?

Source: Family Firm Institute

Family businesses can be the bright spots in an otherwise dark and cloudy economic environment. Numerous studies provide empirical support to the premise that family-owned companies do better because their owners thing long term, on to the next generation as opposed to the next quarter.

Learn More

To learn more about the nomination and selection process, and to download a nomination form please visit www.minnesotabusiness.com.

Sponsors:
Platinum

Gold

Family Renewal Retreat

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:54:18 GMT

Designed specifically for families who want to renew or strengthen their family relationships and family connections. Predicated on the idea of positive psychology and preventative maintenance the Family Renewal Retreat™ allows family members to utilize their family values as a resource for renewal. The retreat is based on the facilitator's 30 years of successful experience of strengthening family relationships in family-owned businesses and families of wealth.

The Family Renewal Retreat™ consists of a pre-retreat meeting to establish the family's goals, the two to two and one-half day retreat, and the follow-up telephone calls to ensure that the momentum established at the retreat continues.

Accommodates from four to twelve family members
Retreat agenda:
-Use of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as a tool to understand differences in the family;
-Creation of the Common Family Vision to unite the family in a superordinate goal;
-Utilizing the Collaborative Team Skills process as a tool to strengthen communication within the family;
-All of us have expectations of what a good family is that are never discussed. The family expectation discussion offers families an opportunity to identify, discuss, and negotiate family expectations;
-Appreciative Inquiry discussion with the family designed to create positive family relationships. Using the principle of Appreciative Inquiry family members identify and implement a plan to strengthen family relationships; and
-Family Forgiveness Ritual™ is where family members participate in a ritual to forgive each other for past hurts and create a new beginning in their family. The ritual includes sharing a "pot luck" meal.

The Myers-Briggs, Common Family Vision and the Collaborative Team Skills are a part of every Family Renewal Retreat™. Families are able to choose an additional segment from the remaining three choices to best suit their family's needs. In all instances the retreat will close with the creation of an Action Plan to implement the initiatives created at the retreat.

Contact Hubler for Business Families for additional information or to schedule your retreat.

Vision For Success

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Our proven, six-step process helps families and their businesses succeed by identifying concerns and critical questions, and by creating and implementing a successful strategy to address them.

The six steps include:

Initial Consultation
Family Business Assessment
Information Analysis
Family Business Planning Meeting
Plan Implementation
Plan Maintenance

VISION FOR SUCCESS™, IN MORE DETAIL.

Initial Consultation
An introductory, no-obligation session introduces the principals and other involved family members of your firm to the program. We'll discuss your needs, goals, and how Vision for Success™ can help.

Family Business Assessment
We conduct a series of confidential interviews to develop the necessary understanding of the issues, concerns, and goals of your family, plus business history, current issues, concerns and future growth. Family members, spouses, key non-family managers, and professional advisors typically participate in the interview process.

Information Analysis
Following the interviews and data compilation, we analyze and organize the information. We identify the major issues facing your family business and focus on those issues that will help or hinder your efforts to achieve your goals. We make recommendations that will serve as the foundation for you to create a comprehensive organization plan.

Family Business Planning Meeting
We present and discuss the analysis with you, make recommendations, and then collaborate with you to accomplish two goals at this meeting: to reach a common understanding of issues and concerns, and to create an action plan to address the issues presented. The action plan is your blueprint for future growth for both family and business.

We begin the meeting by assisting you in understanding and honoring differences among you and providing you with communication tools that serve to make your planning meetings successful.

Vision for Success™ Plan Implementation
Here, we collaborate with you and your other professional advisors to implement the plan established at the Planning Meeting. We help you set time lines and delegate responsibility for action. It often includes a series of smaller family discussions, facilitated by a Hubler for Business Families consultant. In this meeting, the Vision for Success™ program answers critical questions raised earlier in the engagement and assists your family-owned business in successfully achieving its goals.

Plan Maintenance
An integral part of the program includes periodic reviews with you and your staff during and after the implementation phase. Together, we'll evaluate your progress and make any necessary modifications to your action plan. With the knowledge that key issues and relationships are interwoven in a family-owned business, this program gives you the skills to manage those issues and create the relationships you envision to benefit both family and business.

Having a clear picture of what you want for your business and your family is essential for success and satisfaction. We can help you with your Vision for Success™. Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Wealth Care Management

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Many family businesses prepare for the future through wealth preservation, a tool consisting of wills, tax preparation, trusts, and investments. Specialists in these areas work in concert with you, your family members and your advisors to successfully protect your assets.

Just as important as wealth preservation is Wealth Preparation Planning. Its purpose is to prepare family members for the responsibility and emotional impact of wealth.

A two-part process, Wealth Preparation Planning begins with an examination of family heritage.

History and ancestry
Visions and values
Family stories, traditions and wealth values.

The second part of Wealth Preparation Planning explores and identifies:

Values
Self loving
Caring
Life meaning
Generativity
Fulfillment
Sense of purpose

Introducing Wealth Care Management^sm.
Wealth Care Management^sm is our proprietary approach to joining the financial considerations of Wealth Preservation Planning with the emotional considerations of Wealth Preparation Planning. Wealth Care Management^sm is the greatest assurance that can be taken for preserving wealth through succeeding generations.

You've worked too hard to let the family fortune slip through your fingers. Wealth Care Management^sm can help you for today and generations to come. Contact us today by Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Seminars

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Tom Hubler is a very popular speaker at trade association meetings. He presents a variety of seminars to help family businesses begin to address difficult topics like career planning, appropriate placement of both family and non-family managers in management positions, and leadership skill development.

SUCCEEDING AT SUCCESSION is a traditional view of succession planning from an inside out perspective. It starts with the concept of purpose, outlines what motivates entrepreneurs, what the obstacles are to succession planning and ends with the traditional view of the four plans necessary for successful family businesses.

Contact Tom Hubler about this seminar.

THE POWER, MAGIC AND MYSTERY OF A COMMON VISION focuses on the necessary ingredients to unite a family business family around a common vision. The presentation focuses on the positive family values of a family and converts them into a format that assists with working together as a high performance team.

Contact Tom Hubler about this seminar.

PASSION, POWER AND PURPOSE: LEADERSHIP AND CAREER PLANNING FOR THE FAMILY BUSINESS is a presentation that emphasizes the importance of career and leadership planning in family-owned businesses. The presentation starts with a traditional focus on younger generation adult children, discusses the concept of letting go, and ends with the application of career and leadership planning for the senior generation.

Contact Tom Hubler about this seminar.

UNDERSTANDING LEGACY: YOUR GIFT TO THE FUTURE. This is a presentation that taps the interest and passion of all entrepreneurs and their families as they look toward the future. The program offers an explanation of legacy, covers what is a legacy, why it is so important in succession planning and wealth, what are the five parts of a successful legacy, and specific suggestions and ideas for the creation of a legacy will are also be explored.

Contact Tom Hubler about this seminar.

COMMUNICATION AND FORGIVENESS: AN INTEGRAL FORCE FOR FAMILY BUSINESSES. This presentation explores communication and forgiveness and how they apply in the family business. The presentation shows even with people we love how important it is to communicate and forgive, including the people we love most. The steps of forgiveness are explored as a part of the program.

Contact Tom Hubler about this seminar.

Career planning, management selection, leadership skill development and team building are only a few of the challenges that family businesses face each day. Attending any of our Seminars can open new doors to help make running the family business more efficient - and enjoyable. Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Spirited Leadership

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Communication and Management of Conflict
Hubler for Business Families offers a series of successful programs in this area. The programs are tailored to you needs and emphasize the development of listening, understanding, communication skills and the successful management of differences in family-owned businesses.

Family Business Meetings
Family business meetings are an integral part of the change process for family-owned businesses. They provide an opportunity for the family to build a shared vision for the future, to meet and discuss relevant issues regarding the business and to prevent the business from eroding family relationships. Often these are half-day or day-long off-site meetings which offer family members an opportunity to reflect, share and build understanding away from the demands of the business. Initially, they are professionally facilitated in the context of the program, but most family businesses quickly establish their own leadership and continue to meet on a quarterly basis or as needed.

Strategic Planning
As family businesses move through ownership and management transitions, they often must move from an entrepreneurial to a managerial approach to the business. A strategic planning process provides an excellent roadmap for this transition, providing the opportunity to evaluate the current system and refocus the business goals and organizational plan. At HFBC, we tailor the planning process to each organization, based on size and special needs.

Money and the Family Business
Money represents one of the three most difficult topics of discussion in our culture. Money and the emotional conflicts it creates for family-owned businesses are well documented, particularly in the areas of ownership, compensation and estate planning. Professional financial strategies combined with thoughtful family discussions, can prevent the erosion of family relationships due to issues of money.

Family Wealth Preparation Planning
If you're concerned that wealth transferred to your children will act as a disincentive or erode family values, our Family Wealth Preparation service can help. It presents ways to use financial resources in a positive way and prepares children in families of significant wealth for stewardship. Our Family Wealth Preparation service shows family members how to use their wealth as an extension of your family values. Discussions cover philanthropy and how family members can lead purposeful lives, contributing to the community and their family.

How do you inspire a sense of teamwork? How can you effectively share your purpose and vision for the future? We can help to guide the family business with spirited leadership. Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Estate Planning

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

It's no wonder why estate planning is avoided. But it is necessary because it enables the owner/entrepreneur to benefit from their financial investment in the company. While tax planning is the number one priority for doing estate planning, families in business want estate planning to help the next generation run the business. Estate planning can also help you assure economic security and asset protection for the senior generation.

Estate planning is also necessarily for equitable treatment of the children.

It's often difficult for parents to treat their children equally because they're so different. As a result, it's important to develop a plan. Then, once the plan is established, the family needs to get together and discuss how the parents plan to address the adult children equitably. Often the younger generation can make suggestions and clarifications that allow the parents to fine tune their plan with their estate planning professionals.

Whether it's effective tax planning, guaranteeing seniors' economic security or planning the equitable distribution of assets in the future, effective planning today can ease the burdens of running the family business tomorrow. We can help with your estate planning starting now. Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Asset Protection

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

We've found both the family-owned business and the personal relationships benefit by protecting economic security.

Three concerns drive the senior generation in family-owned businesses: health concerns, family harmony and economic security.

Because the family business is often the owner's primary asset, the asset protection plan needs to guarantee economic security. Along with that is the peace of mind that comes with knowing everything you've worked for will be there for the next generation. There are also many ways to save the owner/entrepreneur taxes. We can help you create a transition plan addressing these concerns.

Protecting the economic security of your family with a well-considered transition plan is essential for the long-term success of any family business. We can help you with your asset protection. Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Leadership Programs

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Tailored for particular situations or group members, our Spirited Leadership Programs can assist and guide family-owned businesses in specific areas. By strengthening your management teams or enhancing the placement process, you can improve the dynamics between family members and business associates.

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Our Leadership Development Program is a rigorous one-and-a-half-day assessment program to determine key leadership strengths and highlight areas for development. The program assesses interests, skills, and potential for development in the areas of commitment, competence and character. Once the assessment is complete, a development plan is created to guide the individual's learning for a two-year time period. The program can be used for selection of applicants, promotional decision making and developing managers in their current positions.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

This program is designed to meet the career planning needs of individuals at all stages of career development: Early decision making for career and job search, Rethinking process of mid-career managers, Life/career planning of the senior generation.

The focus of the assessment and action planning is on career interests, life purpose, utilization of natural gifts, and strategic planning to meet the individual's goals.

INDIVIDUAL COACHING FOR EFFECTIVENESS

Hubler for Business Families' Individual Coaching Program is designed to help managers increase their personal and leadership effectiveness, and may be designed around such areas as influencing others, building commitment with employees, emotional maturity, time management, and collaboration problem solving. All programs are geared toward helping the organization achieve its specific strategic goals.
LIFE/CAREER PLANNING FOR THE SENIOR GENERATION

Life/Career Planning is an integral part of the succession planning process. It enables the senior generation, as a couple, to begin the process of designing their relationship with regard to each other, work, money and wealth, community service, leisure time, health, and spirituality. The Life/Career Planning process allows the entrepreneur and his/her spouse to create their ideal future, live their lives to the fullest and convert their life experiences to wisdom for the benefit of their family, their company, their community and each other.

TEAM BUILDING

These services provide organizations an opportunity to proactively address team-related issues such as collaborative decision making, communication flow, honoring of differences, building a common vision, and roles and responsibilities on the team. In addition, the programs can help resolve team conflicts that have become organizational or departmental obstacles to effectiveness. These programs emphasize the development of listening, assertiveness, and negotiation skills. A variety of tools and processes are employed based on the specific needs of the group.

Being a leader isn't just a title. It's an obligation. We can help you learn more about how to become the kind of leader that inspires confidence and loyalty. Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Services

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Our goal is to help the family business operate successfully without normal family entanglements. Our array of family business services reflects that goal. It has been developed to help you become vision driven rather than problem focused.

We offer support to your family to implement practical solutions to your issues. Ownership, leadership, business management, succession, fairness among all parties, goal setting, economic security and life enhancement are covered. Our family business services provide tools for each family and business.

We begin with our Vision for Success^TM - a proven, proprietary solution. This multi-step process helps our clients achieve balance in their business and family and is the core of what we do.

OUR FAMILY BUSINESS SERVICES:

Danz Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Danz family has been working together for approximately 30 years. Over the last 10 years things have been very difficult as they approached succession planning and they had three misfires that caused the family and company a considerable amount of frustration. For the last four years the father and the oldest son have been working side-by-side but have not spoken a word despite the fact they work in a relatively small business. As a result of their common vision they were able to turn things around both for their business as well as their family relationship. Essentially the family began to build on a strong core of family values of generosity and appreciation for each other's gifts. From an individual perspective, the father has been overwhelmed to some extent by his success and saw himself as being blessed by God's abundance. He was eager to be nourished by giving back. Currently the dad is involved in a lot of community projects behind the scenes to assist people less fortunate. His individual vision and kything are shown here.

DANZ COMMON FAMILY VISION

In our family and business we promote respect, honesty, fairness and encourage an environment that is loyal and unified. At the heart of our vision is our commitment to generosity, quality, and an appreciation of each other's gifts. As a hard-working and dedicated family, we communicate and celebrate our spirituality.

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

FATHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

I and my family are blessed by God's abundance. I am nourished by giving back.

KYTHING

May (wife) be inspired by God's generous live.

May (son #2) inspire those he works with to achieve their highest potential.

May (daughter-in-law) experience the gifts of her life and the joy of nurturing God's love in her family.

May (son #1) continue the feeling of contentment and appreciation for the blessings in his life regarding family and business.

Lincoln-Smith Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Lincoln-Smith family is two families who own a family business in common. Recently one branch of the family sued the other, and the two remaining branches came together in the wake of this lawsuit to create a vision focused on a new beginning for the family and company. This vision has been an inspiration, not only for the senior generation, but also for the younger generation in establishing a family council. In the example shown here, the individual vision is that of the wife of the chairman of the board who is not active in the company. Her focus is on dreaming dreams, and sharing with others as a process of fulfillment.

LINCOLN-SMITH COMMON VISION

Because we embrace the past, we are presented with an opportunity to create a new beginning in which we and our family stand united by these values:

Respect
Compassion
Trust
Generosity
Fairness
Integrity

Guided by these values we are committed to:

Open communication
Support of family goals
Create opportunities for success both inside and outside the business; be able to follow your passion
Giving back to the community

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

NORMA SMITH - INDIVIDUAL VISION

Being appreciated, honored and encouraged to be me-becoming. Dreaming my dreams and trusting to share with others, I am always fulfilled.

LINCOLN-SMITH FAMILY KYTHING

May Jim experience himself as an effective individual who manages challenges and guides others to a successful completion of tasks.

May Janet experience herself as compassionate, respectful of herself and others, and fair in dealing with family and employees.

May Bob and the business serve as a magnet to help draw the family closer together by providing opportunities that include dividends, jobs, philanthropy and physical meetings.

Berber Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Berber family has a small business where business issues and differences were eroding family relationships. Both Jim and Nancy Berber were in a second marriage and had a situation of "my" children and "your" children who were both working in the business. As a family, in a magical sort of way, they were able to create a common vision that for them represented life's sacred process. The father's individual vision was also interesting insofar as that he saw himself as a sage and was at a point in his life where the wanted to provide this as a benefit to his family and others for years to come.

Berber Common Family Vision

As stewards of life's sacred process, we use each of our resources in our family company as a creative outlet for our gifts and skills. With passion we pursue our work as an adventure balanced with thrift, honesty, kindness, and fairness. We celebrate our commitment to serve each other, our customers, and our community.

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

FATHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

My legacy of versatility, combined with thrift, industry, and some innovative seasoning, will serve my family, others, and me for years to come.

BERBER FAMILY KYTHING

May (step-son) continue to grow with the business and focus on the dream with a sense of sincerity and humility.

May (son #1) continue to act in a forthright and honest manner in all of his relationships as he keeps sight of the big picture and acts in whole sentences and paragraphs.

May (son #2) experience himself as the suspension that smoothes the ride and keeps the family business from jumbling itself.

May (wife) experience strength in a shared vision as she serves with gladness of heart for the benefit of the family and the community.

Hanson Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Hanson family was a wonderful family where the father created an estate plan for his four sons that would allow the oldest son to have control of the company. The three younger sons were not active in the company and began to question their brother's salary, which was creating a major rift in the family. As a result of numerous family meetings, the family began to evaluate whether it was a good idea to be in business together and determined after a rather lengthy and complicated analysis to have the older brother buy out the other three. The family was determined that they wanted to continue the relationship with the family despite the strong emotional connection to the company and not let business further erode the relationship. The vision that they created focused on the idea of a tree. The second oldest brother, who had an artistic talent, created the tree with family values around the circumference. The higher ones represented the branches and the lower ones the roots.

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

HANSON COMMON FAMILY VISION

Like a living tree our family is strong and flexible. We share our lives together and support each other in joy and grief. With the celebration of our values and gifts we give to others and strengthen our communities.

FATHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

I am alive each day with a healthy body and mind enabling me to appreciate the joys, challenges, and experiences open to me. I successfully transmit my values, knowledge, and wisdom of a lifetime to my children and grandchildren. My life abounds with love to and from wife and family and friends. I consistently pursue my life purpose of knowing, serving and experiencing.

FAMILY KYTHING

May Alice experience a sense of peacefulness and joy as she gives and receives love and grows in her ability to serve and learn.

May Gary connect with others in a soulful and heart-centered manner with music that touches others and highlights his regard for beauty, respect and a supportive community.

May Cindy experience the blessings and limitations of herself and others and give and accept support freely so that she may grow in love and increase her impact on the world. May she dare to live and work among the best.

May Stan experience support, humility, compassion and fulfillment as he contributes to his own and his family's well being.

May Laura experience her vision of a compassionate community.

May Mark experience harmonious balance in his family and work and many his relationships continue to be close, enjoyable and fulfilling as he experiences a sense of pride in his two sons.

May Kristin experience success in her boldness to create originality, joy, health and harmony.

Kelly Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Kelly family vision is an example of a family business where the father had died. His death created many problems not only for the business, but also for the family. The company stock was put in a trust for the benefit of the children. The oldest son was excluded from owning the stock and even working in the business. The trust created a board of directors who hired a general manager, and this created a very difficult process for the son. The family legacy was what drew the family together, and essentially the family was united by fulfilling the father's legacy. The mother's individual vision in the example used here wanted to support her children and the ongoing success of the company as well as the board and her children's wishes.

KELLY COMMON FAMILY VISION

With a generosity of spirit, we complete our father's legacy of hard work by continuing to celebrate his values of loyalty, trust and honesty. We value each other and trust that our dedication to these values will create family harmony and happiness.

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

JOAN'S INDIVIDUAL VISION (MOTHER)

With expectations for good health (till a ripe old age) my vision is to enjoy my golden years with a close relationship with my family and friends, having great joy in this life with a close relationship with my God. I will be supportive on the board of (the business) and to my children's wishes.

Humphrey Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Humphreys were three siblings working together in a family-owned business having completed the succession plan ten years earlier. They were having difficulty with issues of competency and raising questions about their contribution to the business and created a vision that focused on the values they would use to lead the company. Tony, the youngest of the three siblings and the leader of the group, used his individual vision to promote the values of his parents for the benefit of future generations.

HUMPHREY COMMON FAMILY VISION

With spirituality as a common/core value, we embrace and perpetuate the values that our ancestors instilled in us. We will lead the company and be guided by:

integrity
generosity
honesty
thriftiness

In our relationship with each other we commit to being humble, compassionate and forgiving. In all of our endeavors we will persevere, foster/express creativity, and have fun.

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

TONY'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

As an employee of the company I embody the values of my mother and father. I live these values for future generations to see-the values of hard work, creativity, generosity and compassion. My commitment flows from a love of God and others.

KYTHING

May (Sister #1) be an integral core of the business and use all of her potential to become a complete person who contributes to her family and company.

May (Sister #2) experience herself as an integral member of an empowered team that experiences her as competent and caring, and uses conflict for growth and improvement.

Harding Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Harding family used their 75-year history of success as a key focus in the continuation of their family business. The president and second child of the founder who worked with his sister used his individual vision to highlight his sense of fulfillment and commitment to his sister.

HARDING FAMILY VISION

Our company's 75-year history of success is maintained by our continuing commitment to these values, which will create a sense of fulfillment and joy for all.

Caring for each other, our employees and our customers
A sense of honesty, integrity and openness
Wisdom in guiding the company and in our decisions
Generosity of spirit for all who touch our company

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

OLDEST BROTHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

I am fulfilled, rewarded, and content in our company, what it stands for, and how it is perceived. I value my relationship with my sister, family and our employees.

KYTHING

May (brother) be fulfilled and rewarded for his leadership in the company and his values that support his sister, his family, and the employees of the company.

Miller Family

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The Miller family had a very successful family-owned business, the success having exceeded the father's wildest dreams. He was particularly concerned about their resources and using them for the benefit of the community as opposed to having the family corrupted by them. You can see the vision they have created for themselves. The father's individual vision focuses on his role in the company as well as mentoring his children.

Miller Common Family Vision

We are a loving and proud family that upholds the highest values of integrity, respect, acceptance and open communication. We encourage each other while maintaining a spiritual and balanced life, sharing our wealth and personal gifts to the benefit of our family and community. Remaining loyal to each other and our traditions, we celebrate our family unity.

Prayer for Loving Kindness
May our family be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

Father's Individual Vision

I am a leader that is developing our family business into an organization that continues to be an independent and growing company, long after my involvement, with employees that are proud of their association with the company. I also provide leadership and guidance to my family in improving and uplifting the lives of my children and grandchildren.

Kything

May Alice experience herself as a loving, caring and supportive wife, daughter and sister, who gives of herself unconditionally to her family.

May Dave experience himself as a link between today and tomorrow, both in the company as well as the family.

May Eileen provide support to her husband and his dreams with balance that allows them to raise their children with core family values.

May Tom feel a sense of support to establish family values of love, support and cohesiveness that can be passed on to his children and strengthen the family and it's values.

May Lois experience a nourishing environment in all parts of her life where love and respect allows family values to flourish.

May Joe experience himself as a family-oriented leader providing stability to his family through a balance of spiritual, financial, emotional and psychological needs through selflessness, love, support and optimism.

May Nora continue to celebrate the uniqueness and independence of her family and the individuals of her wider community creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, compassion, growth and joy.

Case Studies

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

These family business case studies share a common plot: families creating a family vision that addresses such issues as estate planning, asset protection and succession planning. These family business success stories are the outgrowths of actual common visions created by families in business. All true, these business case studies have fictional names to inspire other families to work together to develop their own common vision.

A CONSTANT IN OUR FAMILY BUSINESS CASE STUDIES: COMMON VISION.

The creation of a common vision - for the family-owned business as well as personal relationships - is a valuable process and the resulting vision is a valuable tool for communication. Each family member and each person involved in the leadership of the business is involved.Everyone articulates an individual vision, and these are knit together to create an inclusive vision for the family members, for the family,and for the family-owned business.

Bob Gazich

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Bob Gazich is a student of business and of people.

His successful career in sales and sales management taught him firsthand the importance and challenges of working with and leading others in a business setting. "Sales requires a closeness to the customer and an understanding of what customers need," Gazich reflects.

He became a student of how to work effectively with different personalities, manage conflict and achieve successful results. After 12 years in sales for a variety of industries from transportation to cellular phones, Gazich decided to formalize his interest and pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology.

Today, as a consultant with Hubler for Business Families, Gazich blends his 20 years of experience in sales management, psychology and education to help family businesses achieve their goals.

"When you examine who is contributing to the gross national product, it's a lot of family-owned businesses," Gazich says. "I like the challenge of helping families uncover their untapped potential."

"So much importance is put on leadership today," Gazich continues, "in both a good and not so good context. But it all boils down to the basics: good leadership is about character and competence." Gazich specializes in assisting adult children of business owners develop their career and leadership skills and provides ongoing coaching. He also provides succession planning services to family businesses in transition.

When he's not busy working with Hubler clients, Gazich teaches management courses at a variety of local universities, including the University of St. Thomas Center for Business Excellence and the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University.

He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, as well as a master's and a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of St. Thomas. He is a member of the Society of Consulting Psychologists and the American Psychological Association.

In his spare time, Gazich enjoys spending time with his wife and their three young sons, coaching youth hockey and baseball, and being active in their church and community.

Duchie Van Hoven

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Duchie Van Hoven has extensive experience with family owned businesses, both as a family member and as an outside consultant.

As a spouse of a fourth-generation family business, she became familiar firsthand with the challenge of balancing family and business roles. Today, she brings a unique perspective of the important role played by spouses. "Even though the spouse may not receive a paycheck, he or she can dramatically impact the success as well as the stumbles in the family business," she observes. "I can shed light on that when I speak from my own experience."

Van Hoven began her career as a paralegal, and worked briefly for her family's business when they opened a new subsidiary company. For nine years, Van Hoven owned a consulting firm, Personalized Shopping Just for You, where she served a variety of corporate and individual clients with personalized services and event planning.

Going through the Hubler process in 1986 with her family's business was a turning point. What she learned about the dynamics of family business intrigued Van Hoven, and led her to pursue a master's degree and to become a licensed family therapist. Since then, she has worked with a variety of family business clients to help them achieve their professional and personal goals by improving communication, identifying obstacles and facilitating conflict resolution.

Van Hoven holds a master of arts in professional counseling, with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy, from Argosy University. She is a qualified neutral mediator under Minnesota rule 114 and a licensed marriage and family therapist. She holds an undergraduate bachelor of arts degree from Metro State University in Minneapolis.

"Conflict is inevitable and positive. It is how a family deals with conflict that will determine whether the business succeeds or stumbles," Van Hoven says. "The most rewarding part for me is having families identify multigenerational issues that are occurring - and providing a safe place for people to speak what was previously unspoken."

Van Hoven resides in Eagan with her husband, David. In her time off, she enjoys golf, walking, ballroom dancing and spending time with friends and family.

Tom Hubler

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

In 1980, when Tom began his career as a family business consultant, he was one of the few professionals addressing family-owned business needs in the United States. Since then, he has played a major role in shaping the family business consultant field, from helping colleges establish family business institutes to working directly as family business consultant for hundreds of clients.

Today, Tom continues his long-standing dedication to helping families of wealth and family-owned businesses succeed. He helps families develop a shared vision for the family and for the business; identify individual talents; tackle any unspoken issues; and create individual and organizational strategies to ensure a personally and financially rewarding business. In addition, Tom assists families of wealth with the creation of a wealth preparation plan that ensures family values continue to emphasize a family culture of gratitude, philanthropy and purposeful living.

ACHIEVEMENTS AS A FAMILY BUSINESS CONSULTANT.

Founding member and Fellow of the Family Firm Institute in Boston, a professional organization serving the needs of family-owned businesses
A professional in residence at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota) for ten years, Tom is a former adjunct instructor there, co-teaching a class in Family Business Management

RESPECTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND INSIGHT.

A nationally recognized expert on family business issues, Tom has made multiple appearances on NBC TV's Today Show. He has also been quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Corporate Report, Nation's Business and Inc. Tom is an editorial board member of Family Business Review and has authored articles on success strategies for family businesses.

DEVELOPMENT OF A FAMILY BUSINESS CONSULTANT.

Tom developed many of his theories on family businesses and families of wealth while studying systems and organizational development as a Bush Leadership Fellow, and has taught at various universities. Today he lectures internationally on topics of interest to family businesses and families of wealth including:

Succeeding at Succession
The Power, Magic and Mystery of a Common Vision
Passion, Power and Purpose: Leadership and Career Planning for the Family Business
Understanding Legacy: Your Gift to the Future
Communication and Forgiveness: An Integral Force for Family Businesses

CERTIFICATION:

Certified leadership and career coach from the Hudson Institute (Santa Barbara, California)
Bush Leadership Fellow
Family Firm Institute Fellow

A PERSONAL NOTE:

Tom tends bees and harvests the honey for family, friends and clients. His "Three Acre Wood" honey is noted for its mellow flavor and vibrant color. Tom also hosts an annual "Feast of St. Ambrose" talk on beekeeping, a popular program at the Minneapolis Rotary Club where he has been a member since 1986.

For Tom, the adage Do what you love and you'll never work another day in your life is particularly appropriate. To work with the dean of family business consultants, email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

About Us

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Fear, confusion, conflict and lack of direction can bring a family business into crisis. Through years of family-owned business consulting, we've found there is no reason a family business should falter; we can help overcome all those obstacles. We reach the business core and emotional heart to promote understanding, resolve issues and move you forward. As recognized leaders in the field of family-owned business consulting, we've helped hundreds of family businesses succeed across generations.

YOU AREN'T ALONE IN FACING ISSUES IN FAMILY BUSINESS.

"...brought our 48-year-old family
business with five siblings a new,
positive focus."
Mark Thompson, President
Thompson & Sons Family RV, LLC

Our Practice will:

- Help you apply resources to solve the problem
- Foster an environment (both mechanism and tone) to facilitate success
- Provide tools to promote communication, readiness and comfort.

At Hubler for Business Families, we've made it our life's work to help people succeed both in business and as a family. We would like to help you succeed with our family owned business consulting. Contact us (Email us, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.)

Show Them the Money

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Teaching the next generation how to handle wealth

When Kailey, my oldest grandchild, was entering first grade, I gave her a "share check" to give to her school or church. I explained to her that many kids don't have the money to buy clothes and supplies for school, so from now on each time I gave her a present I would also give her a "share check" to help anyone she wanted. I explained she could have a discussion with her parents each time she received a check to identify the recipient. (Among others she has chosen are the Brownies, the Humane Society, and her school.)

"Grandpa, does that mean I won't get my Christmas presents?" she asked.

"No," I said, "you will always get presents, but you will also be able to share."

My "share checks" experience with Kailey has rewarded her and me with wonderful, positive money memories. It is a small step that has made a big impression on her along the road to what I tell clients is family wealth preparation planning. See, we really do learn everything important in kindergarten.

The turn of the year symbolizes an excellent opportunity to make a significant New Year's resolution: a plan about wealth and money.

One of the greatest fears parents in family businesses have is the impact of money on adult children and grandchildren. I often hear parents lament, "It was much easier making the money than figuring out what to do with it."

Among parents' deepest fears is that money could corrupt their family's values or create a disincentive that turns adult children or grandchildren into (as one client put it), "slugs."

According to Nathan Dungan's book Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM adolescents have certainly become consumers, spending (on average and adjusted for inflation) five times what their parents were able to spend. That should come as no surprise since the advertising industry starts branding children almost from birth.

Marketers spend approximately $20 billion a year to influence children's buying habits. By the time a child is 21, he or she has been exposed to 23 million ad impressions - that's 3,000 a day on average! As a result, children 0 to 18 years of age spend or influence the spending of $1 trillion a year. No wonder parents are concerned about passing their wealth on to the next generations. In the book Philanthropy, Heirs & Values, authors Roy Williams & Vic Preisser assert that 70 percent of estate plans fail when their goal is to maintain control over assets. There are many reasons for this, but generally it's poor preparation. The natural question that comes to mind is "what's a parent to do?"

Here is a straightforward three-step plan: Initiate a family meeting to share your concerns. Involve the entire family - all generations - in the process of solving the problem. Identify your family values and use them to create a family culture where wealth and money become an extension of those values. This creates a "share check" for family members to use their wealth for good in the world and to include philanthropy in the family culture.

Consciously nurture positive money memories that develop a sense of gratitude. Family wealth preparation planning starts by asking, "What are our family values, are we as a family aligned with those values, and how can we use them to guide us in years ahead?" When you can answer them, you have begun to develop financial wisdom and graciousness in the coming generations.

Forgiveness as an Intervention in Family-Owned Business A New Beginning

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

This article explores the notion of bringing a family business's family values and traditions regarding religion and forgiveness into their everyday lives to create healing when family business differences have broken or severed family relationships. The philosophy of the ritual is to pair it with other family rituals and use it as a tool to begin to focus on the future. The ritual helps the family understand that hurts are inevitable in the context of family businesses, but that the ritual is a way to get beyond them and start over again. The forgiveness ritual that is created draws on the family's history and use of religious traditions to create forgiveness and a new beginning.

In my original career as a family counselor, I worked in a medical clinic. My office was located in the specialty center right next door to the clinic where five family practice doctors regularly saw patients. It was not unusual in that setting for one of the nurses to come over and indicate that one of the doctors was seeing a patient and wanted to know if I was available to sit in on their discussion. Invariably, the patient was seeing the doctor for something that the doctor could find no physical diagnosis.

I would then start seeing the patient for counseling and usually what we discovered was a situation where the stress and discomfort in the patient's life was caused by some traumatic experience or wound. Someone such as a parent, a teacher, a friend, or a sibling had hurt the patient and he or she had not forgiven the person for what had been done. D. Patrick Miller, in his book A Little Book of Forgiveness (D. P.Miller, 1994), mentions this dynamic in his own life and it motivated him to write the book. He mentions that after multiple visits to his physician he was referred to a psychiatrist who helped him realize the impact not forgiving was having on his life. I learned at an early stage in my career the power of forgiveness, and much of the work I did in those days was helping people forgive the perpetrator of the wound so as to free the individual of continuing to relive in their life the pain that they had experienced.

Fast forwarding ahead 15 years - I found the same dynamics operating within family businesses. The assumptions, expectations, and role confusion that often plague family businesses can and do create major hurts both in family as well as business relationships that overlap each other and cause considerable hurt and frustration. It's not unusual in family businesses where this dynamic occurs for siblings and parents and children not to be talking to each other or for various branches of the family to be excluding another branch. In some of the most dramatic cases, family members have sued each other. Witness the history of the Koch Refining family as well as the recent Pritzker family situation where one family member is suing another. In both these situations, people had not forgiven each other and then initiated the legal process as a remedy. The end result of the legal process will be to exacerbate the already strained family relationship to the point that a schism is created within the family that will affect the family for multiple generations to come.

The Family Forgiveness Ritual© is designed to avert this process by ritualizing the process of forgiveness, drawing on the family's tradition of religious values and creating a ceremony that draws on the family's fundamental values of love, generosity, and sense of abundance. The goal of the Family Forgiveness Ritual© is to bring the family's religious tradition into its everyday life. Nash and McLennan discuss this very topic in their book on how to integrate people's faith lives with their lives at work, Church on Sunday, Work on Monday (Nash & McLennan, 2001). Their focus is primarily on public companies, so it seems this integrating should be much easier to implement in the context of a family business where all family members have a common religious background.

Family Forgiveness Rituals© are always done in the context of a family business consultation. The process starts with a series of individual interviews designed to create an understanding about the issues facing the family in preparation for the Family Business Planning Meeting. Both during the individual interviews and the Family Business Planning Meeting, assessments are being made as to the family's readiness to achieve its goals. In those instances where obstacles to their achievement exist, family members are encouraged to use the "Collaborative Team Skills" (CTS) (S. Miller & Miller, 1994) as a model to resolve their differences. (CTS is a system we utilize with our clients for communication and management of differences.) To the extent they are not capable of being resolved in the family meeting context, it is not unusual to suggest either individual meetings or dyadic discussion to further explore how to resolve family business differences.

The introduction of the possibility of a Family Forgiveness Ritual© is normally done in one of the early family meetings, but the details are specifically discussed in individual meetings. In these meetings, the concept of forgiveness and responsibility are broached and clients can discuss their response to the idea of participating in the ritual. It is important to note that Family Forgiveness Rituals© are always done in the context of the overall consultation so that appropriate support and encouragement can be given before, during, and after the ritual has occurred. Family members are always encouraged to share their reservations as a part of the decision-making process as to whether or not to proceed.

One of the critical issues facing the consultant thinking about using the Family Forgiveness Ritual© is the question of timing. In most instances, the ritual is used as a summary process to celebrate what the family has achieved through its family meetings and individual discussions. The ritual basically solidifies what the family has accomplished and ritualizes it deeply in the traditions of its religious values and family heritage.

...the forgiveness ritual is used
as a spiritual spark plug
to ignite the family's compassion
and spiritual traditions.

In other instances, the forgiveness ritual is used as a spiritual spark plug to ignite the family's compassion and spiritual traditions. In these types of situations, a road block has occurred and the hope is that the grace created as a result of the ritual will generate a sufficient amount of healing to allow the family to move forward in a positive way.

When the process is utilized, it is always followed up with individual or dyadic type meetings, that is, father and son, or brother and sister type meetings.

From a forgiveness point of view, it's important to define what I mean by forgiveness. There are multiple definitions, but the one I like the best is from Dr. Frederic Luskin's book, Forgive for Good (Luskin, 2002). His book is a part of the Stanford University forgiveness project that teaches individuals about forgiveness and is able to demonstrate in both a before and after fashion the effects of forgiveness training. His definition of forgiveness is as follows.

Forgiveness is the feeling of peace that emerges as you take your hurt less personally, take responsibility for how you feel, and become a hero instead of a victim in the story you tell. Forgiveness is the experience of peacefulness in the present moment. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it changes the present. Forgiveness means that even though you are wounded, you choose to hurt and suffer less. Forgiveness means you become part of the solution. Forgiveness is the understanding that hurt is a normal part of life. Forgiveness is for you and for no one else.You can forgive and rejoin a relationship, or forgive and never speak to the person again. (Luskin, 2002, p. 68)

In his book, Luskin talks about the benefits of forgiveness. The first benefit, and the most important one, is that forgiveness is our assertion that we are not victims of our past. It basically allows people to speak with emotional balance about the people they feel wronged by. He goes on to say: "When we forgive, we become calm enough to say confidently that what our parents taught us was dead wrong.With that calmness, we can chart the best course for our lives. Forgiveness is the beginning of a new chapter, not the end of the story."

The second benefit of learning to forgive is how we can help others - essentially be a role model for them. The most wonderful illustration of this concept is Martin Zaidenstadt, survivor in the book The Last Survivor (Ryback, 1999). Zaidenstadt, a Polish Jew, was shipped to Dakow in 1942. He was 29; now he's 88. After the war, he settled in the city of Dakow, an unusual thing for a Jew from the camps to do.Martin is a witness - 55 years after the fact. Each day he stands outside the ovens witnessing to what he knows. He knows because he was there, because he lost a wife and daughter in this camp, and because he still wakes up screaming. He knows he never left Dakow. This is what Martin had to say on forgiveness.

When people see that I have made a life in the place where I was brought to die, they understand that they too must learn to forgive, that if I can forgive the Germans for what they tried to do to me, they can forgive as well. (Rybeck, 1999)

Not only was Martin healing himself by his witness, but in addition, he was becoming a wonderful role model for all of us in terms of the notion of forgiveness.

The third benefit of forgiveness, according to Luskin, "emerges as we give more love and care to the important people in our lives" (Luskin, 2002, p. 73).

Oscar Wilde was quoted on this topic and said: "Children grow up loving their parents; as they grow older they judge; sometimes they forgive them" (Hazelden, 1986).

In the commentary that accompanied this, the author acknowledges the benefit achieved by forgiving our parents.

Every situation has limited choices, and we work with what we’ve got. As adults, we realize this is exactly where our parents were when we were children. They, too, were born into an important world and to do the best they could. When we can forgive our parents, we are free to accept them as they are, as we might a friend. We can accept them, enjoy the relationship, and forget about collecting old debts. Making peace with them imparts to us the strength of previous generations and helps us be more at peace with ourselves. (Hazelden, 1986)

Wilde's quote captures for me the awesome benefit of forgiveness as it applies to our parents. But the same principle can apply in all our relationships.

Essentially, what Luskin and Wilde are talking about is what I used to speak about metaphorically in my counseling sessions. When you turn your water off to the house, you turn it off at the street, and the whole house is without water. As a result, metaphorically speaking, when we hold a grievance in our heart, we lose our ability to express and receive love from those people who are so close to us.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, in his book From Age-ing to Sage-ing (Schachter-Shalomi & Miller, 1995), talks about the healing properties of forgiveness. He says: "One of the most powerful tools we have is to reformat the template of our being is forgiveness.... [W]e can reach back to repair the places of great hurt - the broken promises, the acts of betrayal, the ruptures and the heartache that come with the territory of intimate relationships, marriages, and divorces. All of us have unhealed emotional scar tissue that keeps our hearts closed and armored against repeated injuries" (Schachter-Shalomi & Miller, 1995, p. 97).

Rabbi Zalman talks about the issue of responsibility in managing differences and forgiveness. He comments on the importance of people realizing their role, even if it's unconscious, in creating problems in families. He says:

We often fail to account for the role that we unconsciously play in creating dysfunctional relationships and situations. All too often we don't ask ourselves, "How did my hidden agenda - my expectations, unacknowledged needs, and unresolved emotional conflicts - lead to my getting hurt?" We cannot forgive the offending party as long as we have not taken responsibility for our own contribution to the misunderstanding. By portraying ourselves as victims we avoid dealing with the pain that we unconsciously inflict on ourselves. Forgiving another's deed against us requires forgiving ourselves for our complicity in the affair. (Schachter-Shalomi & Miller, 1995, p. 98)

One of the key philosophical cornerstones of the ritual is self-responsibility and the notion that each one of us contributes to whatever the issues are in our families.This has often been the hardest part of the ritual for family members to accept.

Another concept of forgiveness that's important to note is "what forgiveness isn't." Forgiveness does not mean condoning or accepting someone or something that hurt you. This common notion is to forgive and forget with emphasis on forgetting rather than forgiveness. It is important for people to realize that they need not continue to place themselves in situations of continual hurt or pain. When it comes to forgetting, I not only encourage clients not to forget, I actually encourage them to embrace and celebrate the hurt as a precursor to letting go.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, in a lecture from his book Full Catastrophe Living (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), speaks eloquently about the paradox of embracing the pain in order to let it go.

McClendon and Kadis comment on this phenomenon in their book Reconciling Relationships and Preserving the Family Business (McClendon & Kadis, 2004).

Moreover, forgiving does not mean that future hurtful acts done by persons who caused earlier afflictions will be excused, avoided, or ignored. Nor does it mean that permission is given for relationships to go back to the way they were before, or that past offenders are now freed from accountability for their actions. Instead, forgiving is a conscious choice to release oneself from the burden of anger and resentment, as well as from overwhelming preoccupation with hurts,which for some people can be an obsession. Forgiveness can also help others release themselves from the anger they hold toward themselves for having participated in the problem, if only as bystanders. (McClendon & Kadis, 2004, p. 179)

The idea is to remember fully, but release yourself from the burden and pain of anger, resentment, and deep hurt. By forgiving, not only do you release yourself from this burden, but you also make it possible, by coming to a place of emotional neutrality, to allow the other to be released and open to new possibilities for the relationship. D. Patrick Miller comments on this phenomenon when he states in his book A Little Book of Forgiveness: "Forgiveness allows one to share what has to change in order for the relationship to continue" (D. P.Miller, 1994, p. 15).

McClendon and Kadis, in their book Reconciling Relationships and Preserving the Family Business (McClendon & Kadis, 2004) note: "Apologizing and forgiving are behaviors of choice - transitional acts that aid family in reestablishing necessary good will, rebuilding relationships, and refocusing on the future" (McClendon and Kadis, p. 177).

In my work I present forgiveness to clients as a new beginning. Forgiveness allows the client system to generate the necessary goodwill to reestablish the family process of building the family's emotional equity and trust. Forgiveness allows the family to create the positive emotional reservoir that is essential to survive the hard times in any family business.

The Ritual
For the clients to understand what the forgiveness ritual is, I explain the different kinds of forgiveness, although the emphasis throughout the Family Forgiveness Ritual© is on the area of acknowledging what you've done to contribute to the problem and/or to hurt other people.

But at the same time I point out and read a series of quotes that are designed to help people develop a positive perspective about forgiveness, to use as inspirations to assist them in identifying both the things that they have done and the things that have hurt them. The inspirations I use come from a book entitled A Little Book of Forgiveness by D. Patrick Miller (D. P.Miller, 1994). He talks in the book about forgiving yourself and forgiving others - two of the most challenging things about forgiveness. His quotes for forgiving others include:

Begin not with the idea that you are doing a favor to someone who hurt you, but that you are being merciful to yourself. To carry an anger against anyone is to poison your own heart, administering more toxin every time you replay in your mind the injury done to you. If you decline to repeat someone's offense inwardly, your outward anger will dissipate. Then it becomes much easier to tell the one who hurt you how things must change between you. (D. P. Miller, 1994, p. 15)

Forgiveness as an Intervention in Family-Owned Businesses: A New Beginning "Forgive and forget" is a popular distortion of the work of surrendering grievances. The real process is "Remember fully and forgive." If it were actually possible to forget everything you forgave, you could teach very little to others seeking freedom from their resentments. When you are trying to decide whether or not someone deserves your forgiveness, you are asking the wrong question. Ask instead whether you deserve to be someone who consistently forgives (D. P. Miller, 1994, pp. 16–17).

The inspirational messages for forgiving yourself include:

Forgiving your flaws and failures does not mean looking away from them or lying about them. Look at them as a string of pitiful or menacing hitchhikers whom you can't afford not to pick up on your journey to a changed life. Each one of them has a piece of the map you need hidden in its shabby clothing. You must listen attentively to all their stories and win the friendship of each one to put your map together. Where you are going - into a forgiven life of wholeness, passion, and commitment - you will need all the peculiar denizens of your dark side working diligently on your behalf. (D. P.Miller, 1994, p. 38)

In addition, I also use some quotes from the Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness and Peace by Jack Kornfied (Kornfield, 2002). Kornfield has a series of meditations that allow the reader to focus on the value of forgiveness. His meditations cover forgiveness from others, forgiveness for ourselves, and forgiveness for those who have hurt or harmed us. Each one of these meditations inspires people to forgive themselves or others and makes it possible to start anew. In addition, outside the context of the Family Forgiveness Ritual©, individual discussions have usually occurred to support the positive expectations of people being successful in the forgiveness process.

The actual ritual starts with the presentation from the consultant's point of view on the nature of forgiveness and utilizes some of the previously mentioned inspirational quotes to frame the psychological perspective about forgiveness. In addition, the family's clergyperson, who has been selected by the family, shares the family's religious background, its religious philosophy of forgiveness, and how it fits into the culture of the religion and family.

The second step of the ritual is to allow people to talk about what they want to be forgiven for - what may have occurred with them that they are willing to forgive. For many families this is a very emotional part of the process. Even families that didn't anticipate they would have anything to talk about in terms of wanting to be forgiven are able to share thoughts about their contribution to the problem. Some of the most emotionally moving and positive sharing has occurred in families who thought they had nothing to share.

The next item is an absolution ritual, which has always been uniquely different based on the religion and clergyperson involved. It's an opportunity for people to, ritualistically speaking, wash away the hurts and create a ritual of forgiveness that allows them to heal.

The next step is a Eucharistic celebration. This has been uniquely different based on the family's religious background and minister, so that each one that has been done has been different. Since the ritual has only been done with Christian families, this has been the format that has been used.

The final step of the ritual is the potluck meal. Families have traditionally gathered around meals for holidays and rituals, and so the Family Forgiveness Ritual© incorporates that tradition by asking people to do a potluck meal. In some instances that hasn't worked because of logistics and the family has gone out to a restaurant. But nevertheless, the culmination and celebration of the ritual is the metaphor of the banquet feast.

Case Study
The first attempt at this ritual occurred in November 1998 with the Danz family - a family that had been plagued by family business troubles for 10 years prior to our engagement and had made several previous attempts at resolution of its differences, but had not been successful.

The presenting problem was the fact that the father and oldest son who worked in the business were not speaking and had not spoken for the past four years, despite the fact that they worked side by side. All their communication was run through the younger brother, who was working with them in the business. After many years of frustration, the younger brother finally indicated his unwillingness to continue unless the two of them worked out their differences.

One of the unique characteristics of this family had to do with the father's name, which was Wimp. I refused to call him that until I realized its significance. His father, as it turned out, was a butcher and when he would go to work each morning, he would ask his son what he would like for dinner, and his son would reply, "hamburger." The dad would reply,: "[t]hat's my Wimp," referring to Wimpy in the Popeye cartoon. As it turned out, the boy's father died when he was 10 years old, and that was his most enduring memory of his father. When I understood this and realized the name's significance, I was also able to understand the issues between the father and son and redefined the problem as an issue of loss. The father had lost his dad to a heart attack when he was a young boy of 10 years old. The oldest son in the family business had lost his dad to business tensions and the issues between he and his father and the rest of the family regarding the business. As I began to talk about that issue with the family members who were participating in the engagement, which included the father, the mother, the oldest son and his wife, and the youngest son, each of them identified loss issues in their family. As a result of sharing that, we were able to create some positive innovations and move forward in the short space of three or four meetings.

However, in addition to that, there was a bigger issue having to do with the vilification of the oldest son by the other five children in the family. When I suggested to the family that was the problem and recommended the Family Forgiveness Ritual© and the use of their pastor, they were eager to proceed. I made my presentation on the psychological aspects of forgiveness and the pastor made his observations from a religious perspective. The Danz family was a conservative, traditional Catholic family, and the priest who was participating was a Benedictine monk. His remarks were able to draw on the Church's long tradition of forgiveness and he shared a very positive perspective about it with the family.

When it came time for people to talk about what they wanted to be forgiven for, there was a very, very long silence. I had thoughts running through my mind about whether this was the right thing to do until the silence was broken by one of the middle sons who had flown in from Memphis to participate in the ritual. He said to his father, "I want to ask for your forgiveness for taking so long to tell you that I was gay." He had previously shared with his family that he was gay, but was now asking for forgiveness for taking so long and not trusting his parents.

After another very long silence, the dad responded, "I want to ask for your forgiveness for how I handled hearing that you were gay." At that point, the mother began to cry and each one of the family members in turn went around sharing what they had contributed to the problem. When it got to the daughter-in-laws who had just recently joined the family, they said they couldn't think of much of what they'd done to contribute to the problem, but they certainly wanted to be a part of this process.

The priest then conducted an absolution ritual and the home Eucharist. It was followed by a potluck meal that the family had prepared.

The ritual started at 9:00 that morning and at 7:00 that evening when the family was cleaning up, many of them were sitting in the living room as families do after family celebrations, reminiscing about family stories. The oldest brother, who at the beginning of the ritual was isolated in a corner, was now the heart of the family sharing.

That Christmas, the brother from Memphis brought his partner home for the first time, and they had the best Christmas they had ever had.

In February 2004 I talked with the mother who indicated that the family was getting together to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. In that conversation, she mentioned the business was doing very well and the family has never been better. As a matter of fact, she said the whole family was getting ready to leave for a cruise to celebrate their anniversary.

In other families, the absolution ritual has been different. One of the more dramatic instances of this was done with a Presbyterian minister and a family where there had been deep hurts because of business differences.

The absolution ritual included the distribution and collection of family IOUs and an explanation by the minister that the original "Our Father" was worded in terms of debts - "forgive us our debts as we forgive those who have debted against us." He explained that in the Old Testament when you offended someone, that not only were you emotionally indebted to somebody, but you were financially indebted. The use of the IOUs was a wonderful symbolism that allowed the family to get beyond the hurts and create healing and move forward.

In another family, the absolution ritual included olive oil that was blessed by the priest who was conducting the ceremony. Family members dipped their thumbs in the olive oil and blessed each other with the sign of the cross saying, "God's forgiveness, our forgiveness, love."

So you can see, the ritual changes based on the family, but the result is a healing process that allows the family to start anew in a positive way and go forward. Although I recommend Family Forgiveness Rituals© regularly, there are some families who have been reluctant to do them. Several instances have occurred where other professionals, even psychological professionals, have advised a family that they're not ready to participate in such a ritual. My belief is that participating in the ritual opens the door to positive healing within the family that changes their perspective and that it's not necessary to wait until people are completely ready. My belief is that the ritual itself has an inspirational message that allows people to go beyond their hurts to move forward in a positive way. I believe Frederic Luskin's work at Stanford supports the conclusion that people can be taught to forgive and the results are measurable thereafter.

There are some families where participating in a Family Forgiveness Ritual© has not been successful. In one such instance, the family was so steeped in its hurt and wounds that they were unwilling to give up their despair and hurt and move forward in a positive way. Unfortunately, as this article is being written, they are embroiled in litigation where their mutual hurts are being fought over in a courtroom.

Family Forgiveness Rituals© are an opportunity for family members who have been hurt or broken by business and financial differences to create healing in their families and to short circuit the distance, anguish, and hurt that often occurs. The success of the ritual is a function of the family's ability to draw on their deep well of emotional and family traditions as well as their religious traditions. In doing so, they are able to utilize the internal wisdom of their family and move forward in a positive and caring way to create a new beginning.

References
Hazelden. (1986). Touchstones: A book of daily meditations for men. Center City: Hazelden Foundation.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living. New York: Delacorte Press.
Kornfield, J. (2002). The art of forgiveness, loving kindness, and peace. New York: Bantam Books.
Luskin, F. (2002). Forgive for good: A proven prescription for health and happiness. New York: HarperCollins.
Miller, D.P. (1994). A little book of forgiveness. New York: Penguin Group.
Miller, S., & Miller, P. (1994). Collaborative team skills. Littleton: Interpersonal Communications Programs, Inc.
Ryback, T. (1999). The last survivor. New York: Pantheon.
Schachter-Shalomi, Z., & Miller, R. S. (1995). From ageing to sage-ing: A profound new vision of growing older. New York: Warner Books.

Keep The Family in Family Business Holidays

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

I've been a film buff for years and each holiday season I try to watch something from my list of favorites. Top of my list is "The Bishop's Wife," a 1947 film (recently remade with Denzel Washington) originally starring Loretta Young, Cary Grant and David Niven as the bishop.

The story is about a bishop and his wife who are involved in a parish life. The bishop is driven to raise money for a new cathedral at the expense of everything else in his parish including his family. In the midst of the holiday season and beleaguered by his responsibilities, he asks God for help to relieve the pressure. God sends him an angel (Cary Grant) who, through a series of tricks, helps the bishop realize that his real mission in life is not to build a cathedral but to serve the needs of his parishioners.

In family businesses the family can become focused on building a cathedral (the business) at the expense of family relationships. During holiday gatherings, it's not unusual for the business to dominate the gathering.

Whatever your tradition, the holiday season is a wonderful opportunity to set aside the stress and strains of the business and celebrate all the special rituals that bind families together. For me the family is what makes the holidays special. As the family celebrates the holidays, we build the emotional value of family. This not only strengthens our family, but also continues to inspire, strengthen and infuse family value into the company.

The family's values are the core culture of the family's business. However, by talking too much about the business during family celebrations you could inadvertently alienate family members not actively involved in the business. So, keep norml business discussions in the boardroom and out of the holiday gatherings.

During this holiday season, seek new and innovative ways to celebrate that are inclusive and family oriented. Form a family holiday committee to evaluate if what you are doing to celebrate as family is working. If so, keep it; if not, come up with a new approach. Put the family in charge and keep it there.

Here some ways to strengthen your holiday celebration:

Have realistic expectations
Go out of your way to have fun
Family icebreakers - discuss in a group:

What's your favorite holiday memory?
What's the most exciting thing that's happened this past year?
What is your biggest dream for the New Year?

Do a multi-generation family picture
Learn about each other's kids - your nieces and nephews
Do your best to focus your time and energy on activities that celebrate family tradition and the blessings of the season
Do your best to limit business discussions; save them for a regularly scheduled family meeting.

The holiday season provides great opportunity to emphasize those family values that are the bedrock of your family. As you plan family activities understand that less is more. Consider what you can do to create balance, harmony, and enjoy the family and life you've created.

Happy Holidays.

The Price of Peacekeeping

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

Small problems ignored become very large problems

One of the driving forces for entrepreneurs and their families is family unity. No entrepreneur and their spouse want to be in their 60s, 70s - or even their 80s - and have business and financial differences tearing the family apart. Unfortunately, family unity can be an elusive goal for many family businesses.

Good Intentions
In my 25 years of experience with family business, the challenge of maintaining family unity can be explained by "Hubler's Speck of Dust Theory," which is taught in all the major universities in the country. [The truth is, no one has ever heard of the theory, but its implications are seen in most family-owned businesses.]

"To avoid conflict, most families try to compromise or give things up they care about to keep the peace."

My theory states that when families gather and there are minor business or financial differences, family members often think: "We're all going to the lake for the Fourth of July, and I don't want to create a family problem by bringing up our differences - it will upset everything." Nothing is said and time passes; it's Labor Day, then it's Thanksgiving and finally, it's Christmas. Every time the family gets together, the small problems are ignored and instead of going away, they fester, eventually growing into larger problems.

Even with the good intention of maintaining family harmony, family members inadvertently create the very problem they're trying to avoid by not discussing business and financial differences. To avoid conflict, most families try to compromise or give things up they care about to keep the peace. I understand how this can happen; as a young boy, I was taught to do both. But experience has taught me that compromising and giving things up doesn't really work.

Good Deeds
The key to enhancing family unity is to work together to create a common family vision based on shared values. When families share a vision, it leads to greater understanding and communication.

When we give to the collection at church or to our favorite charity, we feel good because we know that we are furthering the common good. The same is true in family businesses. Family members also may be called upon to make a contribution to the common good of the family, even if it means they won't get exactly what they want. But they can feel good about the contribution, because it advances the common good of the family - and the business.

One of my clients, who I will call the Sweeney Family, is a good example. The family owns a large business where the father and his eldest son work in the business; the mother and three other children are inactive. To unify their family, they worked together to create a common vision based on their family values to prevent business and financial differences from eroding family relationships.

Circles of Influence - The importance of defining expectations

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

The importance of defining expectations

In the next few articles, we are going to focus on how to create family unity in a family-owned business. One of the most common sources of conflict in family business occurs when people confuse their roles as owners and employees with those of being family members. Often there are unspoken, and conflicting, expectations on all fronts.

Two of my clients recently encountered this problem when family members employed in the family business as bookkeepers leveraged their status as owners and family members to trump business decisions - even when their position in the business didn't warrant such input.

It's also not unusual for the president of a family business (often times the father) to continue in that role when he comes home in the evening. The issuing of orders continues. One CEO client told his kids: "If you don't get a college degree, you're out of my will" - not the best way to create family unity!

One of my favorite stories about conflicting expectations occurred when I was preparing to lead a seminar with the Minnesota Family Business Council. A father and family business leader called me to talk about a current concern. "I'm in business with my two sons; my oldest son is an engineer and my heir apparent. He's been terrific up until two years ago when he got married," he explained. "My daughter-in-law is the problem. Can you come and fix her?"

I quickly said, "I don't do that sort of thing." I didn't know what he was expecting, but it didn't sound very good to me. Instead, I suggested that he invite both his son and daughter-in-law to the seminar with other family members. He did.

As I was presenting the concept of overlapping circles (where the business and the family are both represented by circles), the son raised his hand. "You know the way you've presented those circles - they're equal in size. If my dad was drawing those circles, his business circle would be very, very big," he said. "On the other hand, his family circle would be very small."

"Now if my wife was drawing those circles, her family circle would be very big and her business circle would be very small. So next time you do the presentation, I think you ought to mention that," he said.

Someone in the audience asked, "What do your circles look like?"

And he bashfully said, "I'd rather not say." He was there with his whole family and caught in the middle between two people he really loved.

After the seminar was over, the daughter-in-law came up and thanked me for suggesting that she be invited to the seminar. "Now I understand more about the culture of our family business. This is the first time as a family we've ever had an opportunity to sit down and talk about this... thank you," she said.

What this family did for the first time was discuss their expectations for each other and the business. You and your family also can discover the value of communicating about roles and expectations. I recommend that families sit down at a "family meeting" to discuss the following key questions:

What are our expectations for each other as family members?

What are our expectations for each other as business owners/employees?

How can we best balance our roles as employees, owners and family members?

Clarifying and discussing these questions will go a long way toward creating family unity and eliminating unspoken expectations.

The Ties That Bind - How to Keep the Family in Family Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

With tremendous verve we embark on the new year*, full of New Year's resolutions and good intentions. But in a relatively short period of time, we go back to business as usual with our old habits.

The same is often true in family businesses. Each year a commitment is made to start planning, but in a relatively short period of time, we slip back into the world of just doing the business.

The late Bill Knowlan, owner-entrepreneur of Wild Bill Knowlan's Grocery Stores in St. Paul, taught me an early lesson about the importance of planning. As a junior in high school I was part of the cadre of high school students helping him convert from a corner store to his first supermarket. One day I was busy with a mechanical stamper, stamping 303 tins of peas and putting them on the shelf.

Bill walked down the aisle and said to me, "What's your plan?" I remarked, "I don't have a plan - I'm busy putting peas on the shelf." Again he asked, "What's your plan?" In a very exasperated way I said, "I don't have a plan - I'm busy putting peas on the shelf!"

Bill said, "A plan that isn't working is better than no plan at all." I've never forgotten that lesson.

In the context of family businesses, it's easy to get so engrossed in "putting peas on the shelf" - doing whatever the business does - that we ignore the big picture planning needs of the business.

Having a plan is essential because it allows families to develop a north star to guide and manage the delicate balance between their family and business relationships.

Imagine for a moment a set of two circles. One represents a family and the other is a business - and they're separate. That's the typical model for someone working in a company; their family and business circles are separate. In a family business, however, those two circles overlap. As a result of this overlap, the business can become vulnerable to family issues and entanglements that are normal to all of our families. And business and financial differences can - and often do - erode family relationships. The goal with family business, then, is to ensure the right overlap - one that supports the family, and allows the business to be successful.

Some key challenges and issues unique to family businesses that this column will cover include:

How to maintain family unity
The best way for a sibling team to work effectively
The role of non-family managers
Developing a legacy in family businesses
Family Participation
Creating successful family holidays
The role of family values in a family-owned business
Motivating children and parenting adult children in your family-owned business
The impact of wealth on family values
Siblings, father-daughter, father-son, mother-daughter, father-daughter relationships in family businesses, plus how the in-laws fit in.

My goal this year with this new family business column is to help owner-entrepreneurs and their families look beyond "putting peas on the shelf." I hope to provide a forum that will help more families begin to talk in a positive way about the necessary plans and systems they need to be a successful, well-run and profitable business, while maintaining positive, warm and happy family relationships.

(Originally published in Minnesota Business, January 2005)

The Value of Family Values

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

In life and in business it's important to recognize those who have positively influenced us and do our best to live their values.

It's time to reflect back on the resolutions we made back in January for the new year. Some of them have been laid aside while other resolutions have become new habits. One resolution you probably have not heard about is the resolution to "recognize parents for the values they taught use" or to "live a life that more actively serves others." I contend that we seldom consider how connected we are to one another, especially down through generations, but Laurie Murphy certainly does.

Last October at the Minnesota Family Business of the Year Award ceremony, Murphy Warehouse Company received the Community Service and Philanthropy recognition. Laurie Murphy (Director of Quality Assurance for the company) was there, along with other members of the Murphy family and company employees. As a result of that recognition, Laurie was moved to write a thank you letter to her parents, aunts, uncles and other ancestors. It is a stunning and inspiring expression of gratitude and family values. (If you would like a copy of the letter, email me).

Laurie thanked her family for the values they taught, including religious values, honesty, and "giving back to the community in time, treasure and talents in thanksgiving for all of our blessings." She thanked the third generation, which includes her parents, for the precedent they established for her generation and for the fifth generation.

She stated that the Community Service and Philanthropy recognition honors her parent's generation, now octogenarians, for what they accomplished and for being such great role models. She noted how important it is not only to give, but also to roll up one's sleeves and dig into work that benefits the less fortunate.

Laurie's gratitude nobly expressed the importance of service and philanthropy. She took us beyond self importance to realize how connected and significant we are to one another. Laurie reminded us of the positive impact we have on family when we join together to serve others.

C. Michael Thompson reminds us in his book The Congruent Life that "service is on the outside like prayer is on the inside." It prompts a challenge to each of us to do more in our family businesses to strengthen the commitment to our communities especially in these challenging economic times.

Many non-profit organizations have seen painful financial cuts and desperately need both money and volunteer services. My hope is that at an upcoming family meeting, you will take a few moments to discuss what you can do as family to make a bigger contribution to your community.

For example, I have mentioned in previous articles, that I know of families who have worked together to host picnics and 4th of July fireworks for the St. Joseph's Home in Minneapolis. What worthy cause might your family and business support? Where might you add resources with a simple helping hand?

The Murphy family walks their talk by living their family's values. Across the generations they instill true gratitude for the blessings of their lives. This does not have to be complicated. It can be as simple as engaging your grandchildren in entry level service and philanthropy projects.

In my own family I continue to give "share checks" to my three oldest grandchildren--Kailey, Elijah and Kieran. They then talk with their parents (my children) to decide which charity or non-profit they want to support. For example, when Kailey (now 13 years old) was in 2nd grade, she was already raising money for the Heart Jump-A-Thon. There is no age limit for serving others. For helpful ways to teach your children about sharing visit www.sharesavespend.com.

As Laurie Murphy so aptly stated, "We all stand in the shadow of previous generations and owe them a debt of gratitude for their work and inspiration." If you are someone who makes New Year's resolutions, I suggest adding one: Express appreciation and continue the legacy of gratitude in your own family by demonstrating service and philanthropy in your community.

Walk the talk and live a life that includes service. It will likely cause your children to someday recognize how much they appreciate your legacy and leadership.

Resolving Family Conflict Empowers

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

The staring point for resolving family conflict is creating a common vision for the family-owned business. With personal relationships this can be a challenge, but is readily achievable with our guidance. The payoff extends far beyond business improvement, beyond resolving family conflict, to genuine and heartfelt communication in the family.

We can help you can realize and benefit from the qualities found in empowered families.

Self responsibility
Authentic communication
Courage
Forgiveness
Leadership that promotes learning and growing (change)
Measurements of success and celebration
Honor the product (what) and the process (how)

A Key Belief of Tom Hubler

WHAT TOM HUBLER BELIEVES.

People are unique and gifted
Meaning and happiness stem from utilizing and manifesting your gifts in service of a higher power
We each have the ability to create our ideal futures
People and families need to be nourished by the regular infusion of love, recognition, appreciation and psychic energy
Transformation in relationships occurs at the boundary between forgiveness and self-righteousness
Uniting families in a common vision is critical to family unity
There is a higher power and wholeness and oneness is achieved through surrender.

Don't let family business disputes escalate into a family crisis. We can help you with resolving your family conflict with our Spirit & Work Programs as well as our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or

Resolving Work and Family Conflict

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

When you're in a family business, wherever you go, family or business or both will be there. This makes resolving your work and family conflicts difficult. The reason? Unpleasant workplace issues often go unaddressed, only to grow into big problems. Why? To avoid work and family conflict, it's natural to put off frank discussions of workplace issues-especially when a family gathering is coming up and lingering hard feelings might spoil the event. So nothing happens and the work and family conflict grows.

RESOLUTION THROUGH COMMUNICATION AND MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENCES.

We can help resolve your work and family conflicts and manage your differences in a win-win manner. The approach at Hubler for Business Families is to build communication between members of your family business. Positive communication leads to a positive environment, and issues can be discussed constructively and resolved before problems fester.

We can help you better facilitate family conflict management with our Spirit & Work Programs as well as our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or

Family Business Conflict Resolution

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Business conflicts can tear apart a family. Family business conflicts arise because family and business have different (even opposite) goals. A family is protective and loyal, with strong emotional ties that tend to resist or minimize change. But a business must be productive. It values competency and candor in order to embrace change and create success. When goals clash, we can help resolve the conflict between family and business.

Tom Hubler Discusses
Conflict Resolution

WORK ON BOTH SIDES OF THE EQUATION.

We start by asking, "What causes the family business conflict and what are the obstacles?" Finding the answers can result in a better sense of balance between the family and business. How do you arrive at the answer? On the family side, we will create a family plan that describes how you're going to be a family without undue influences of business. On the business side, we draw plans for ownership, management and leadership.

The family alone cannot solve every family business conflict. We can provide a fair and unbiased assessment of your family's conflicts - along with equitable solutions with our Spirit & Work Programs as well as our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or

The Soul of Family Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Family Business Review - September 2009

The goal of this paper is to supplement the paper entitled The Family Point of View, Family Social Capital, and Firm Performance: An Exploratory Test. Based on the paper, my assumption is the Family Point of View is a reality but its presence in family business is a function of the families' ability to nurture and create an environment that supports its development. Below, I provide insights from a practitioner's perspective about developing the family point of view, which often does not come easily and requires some changes in the way families communicate.

In over 30 plus years of working with families and family businesses, my experience is that there are few collaborative discussions that directly focus on conscience, ethics, norms and the creation of a family point of view. In my experience, the culture of the family business and the creation of the family point of view are frequently established by the father in his influential role in the family as the leader of the business. In order to achieve a more collaborative dialog for the creation of the family point of view the family must engage in activities that allow for the emergence of the family point of view through discussion of events that occur in the family and the family business.

In the discussion that follows, I provide a description and examples of what I do to promote the kind of dialog that develops the family point of view, which includes the following key ingredients:

A focus on the Soul of Family Business
The emergence and sharing of family values
The creation of and nurturance of a Common Family Vision based on the notion of building the emotional equity of the family
Family kything and reciprocal commitment to each others' success
Introduction of a model for collaborative communication
Regular and periodic family meeting to promote dialog
Solidification of moral infrastructure
Ethical norms-based on the family's soul

The discussion that follows is not meant to be an academic explication, but a description of how I see the guidelines provided above applied in family business.

The soul of family business.

The most perplexing question in the context of family businesses has to do with the nature of soul. From my perspective, soul is what drives all of what happens in family businesses, and it is the indefinable essence of a family's spirit and being. Soul is not something that can be measured or quantified, but it is easily recognizable by both its presence and absence. The soul of the family business is not easily defined. The following attempts to reflect its nature.

David Whyte (1994) in The Heart Aroused, quotes James Hillman and his definition of soul saying, "Its meaning is best given by its context ... words long associated with the soul amplify it further: mind, spirit, heart, life, warmth, humanness, personality, individuality, intentionality, essence, innermost purpose, emotion, quality, virtue, morality, sin, wisdom, death" (p.14). The soul, according to David Whyte, "has been imaged as ... given by God and thus, divine" (p. 14). The result ... it is important for families to be vigilent and receptive when the soul comes knocking with its implied sense of virtue and conscience.

It is important to understand that the soul will emerge, but families must be receptive, vigilent and accommodating when the soul cautiously presents itself. The recognition of the soul is not an automatic process - it requires the family to quiet itself so as to be able to recognize the soul when it emerges.

Clearly the soul is shy and reticent and easily spooked. At the same time, it is persevering and can be relentless with its message. What we need to understand is creating an environment where the soul's message can be savored and brought into the presence of family consciousness. The soul's presence, according to David Whyte (1994:15) is "... the palpable presence of some sacred otherness in our labors ...." It is does not make any difference if you call that otherness God, the universe, destiny, life or love. For me it is the source of moral consciousness that creates the family point of view.

The manifestation of the soul in family business comes, from my perspective, as a result of the emergence and discussion of family values. These values are those that the family wants to see perpetuated in the company and become the rich source of family creativity, ethics and the family's moral point of view. In my experience and in the process we use the family is asked what are the family values it would like to see perpetuated in the company. As a result of this question a rich family discussion occurs where family values are discussed and prioritized. The discussion is often enlightening for family members as they begin to verbalize and emotionally connect in a consensus way around their common family values. For me, these values are utilized in the creation of what I describe as a Common Family Vision which becomes the moral compass for a family as it creates the ethical climate for its family business and the foundation for the evolution of the family point of view.

The Common Family Vision in the context of our work with family owned businesses is a vision that comes out of the family's values. It is used as a superordinate goal to unite the family around its values and its soulfulness. The purpose of the common vision, while uniting the family, is also to inspire family members to both collectively and individually be able to manifest the vision in all aspect of their work and personal lives.

In order for the Common Family Vision to have a significant impact on the evolution of the family's conscience and the creation of the family point of view it is something that, in my experience, needs to be nurtured and recited on a daily basis. The benefit of the Common Family Vision and its value to the family may be accomplished as a group or by an individual family member. The individual or family can measure their performance and whether or not they are behaving consistently with their common vision. The daily recitation and repetitive nature embodies the spirit of the common vision and its values. The repetition is similar to that of high performance athletes or artists who are able to have their work become second nature due to the multiple repetitions they exhibit in their craft. The same is true in families, where they are able to recite the common vision so that it becomes an embodiment of their soul.

Two examples illustrate the creation of a common vision. First, the Danz family (fictitious name), a family consisting of a father, two sons and a mother who all worked in a small family business. The older son and father, although working side-by-side, had not spoken to each other in four years. At their initial family meeting they were able to put aside their differences and made a contribution to the common good, and participated with other members of the family to create their Common Family Vision:

In our family and business, we promote respect, honesty and fairness and encourage an environment that is loyal and unified. At the heart of our vision is our commitment to generosity, quality and an appreciation of each other's gifts. As a hardworking and dedicated family, we communicate and we celebrate our spirituality.

As a conservative and traditional Catholic family, the Danz family's vision represents their soulfulness in coming together as a family to begin the dialog where their family point of view will emerge.

Another example is the Sweeney Family Common Vision. The Sweeney family, again a fictitious name, is a family of two parents with four adult children who owned a family business. Only the oldest son and the father worked in the business. The son and his father were having difficulties in terms of his emerging role as a leader. In addition, the parents were concerned that the financial blessings that were coming the way of the adult children would in fact corrupt their adult children and possibly have a negative impact on the grandchildren. The Sweeney Family's common vision is:

Our family circle is an unbreakable bond of support, belief in each other and unconditional love. It inspires us to live our lives with humility, integrity and philanthropy. We manifest this through our families, our foundation and our business.

Again, the soulfulness of the family emerges in their common vision and becomes an inspiration for them as to how to lead their lives as a family, as well as their business and community involvement.

Another aspect of the common vision and building the emotional equity of the family is the Prayer for Loving Kindness. The ritual that we create for our families includes the recitation of the common vision, as well as the family Prayer for Loving Kindness. The prayer is:

May our family be filled with loving kindness
May our family be well
May our family be peaceful and at ease
May our family be happy

The goal of the prayer for loving kindness is to assist the family in beginning to program their subconscious about what they want. Again, the idea is to recite the prayer on a daily basis so that it becomes a continuum or embodiment of the family's soulfulness and virtues. It becomes an inspiration to use the common vision as a resource to unite the family.

In my experience with family businesses, families are always trying to create unity in their families. The traditional methods and forms for creating unity include "compromise and giving things up." I encourage families to set aside the notion of compromise and giving things up. When people do that, they end up being frustrated and unhappy. I encourage them to understand that no individual in a family is always going to get 100% of what they want. Instead, family members should focus on doing what they can to make a contribution to the common good. Hopefully the contribution will come out of their love, generosity, and their sense of abundance and the trust that if they make a contribution now, other family members will do the same thing they are called upon to do so. A family member's understanding that they are furthering the common good makes it easier for them to make a contribution as opposed to compromising and giving up things.

Another facet of the common vision that supports the development and nurturance of soul, family businesses, and subsequently, the family point of view, is the concept of the B.O.S.S. The B.O.S.S. is an acronym developed by Sherod Miller (1994, 2005) for his work, Collaborative Team Skills, which is a communication and management of differences program that assists families in business create a dialog that allows their family point of view to emerge. I will discuss the B.O.S.S. concept in more detail later in this paper.

Basically, my interpretation of the B.O.S.S. concept is defined as follows:

B - Stands for the business and what is it that the business needs in order to continue to be successful.

O - What do you want for the other about what they want for themselves?

(For me, the O is the most important part of the concept. Each member of the family needs to understand that there is a commitment for the whole family to help each other achieve what they want for themselves. This is critical concept in family owned businesses where it is not unusual for the family members to think that no one cares about what they want. Dads are prone to secretly hide resentment and bitterness towards their adult children and operate under a false assumption that "the kids just don't care about what I want." By the same token, the adult children often mistakenly believe that their parents are not committed to their dreams of running the company.

Only through a process of discovery where family members share what they want for themselves and for the family is each member of the family able to understand for the first time what others want.

S - The first S is what do you want for your Self?

From my perspective it is important to articulate what it is that you want for yourself, but you can't have a team or a family business if people only think about what they want for /themselves. As a result, the expression of what you want for yourself needs to be done in the context of a superordinate goal or what I call a common family vision.

(It is in the context of the Common Family Vision that individual wants for the self are expressed. It is also done with a commitment to win-win where the family synergistically creates a new solution that centralizes the best of all their ideas).

S - The last S is what you want for the other stakeholders, which I define as the family has a whole, the employees, customers, vendors, board, and sometimes the community.

The goal of the B.O.S.S. concept is to create win-win solutions that honor the family's common vision to help promote the emergence of a common family point of view.

Another aspect of the creation of the cohesive team that allows for emergence of the family point of view is a synonym for the O part of the B.O.S.S., which Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1997) refers to as psychic energy. He develops the concept of the Autotelic Personality, which he subsequently entitled flow. In his book, Finding Flow, Csikszentmihalyi investigates and develops an understanding about what gives people meaning in their lives. He indicates that there are three things that create meaning in people's lives - work, active leisure time and relationships. When he talks about relationships he refers to family relationships - regular families, not families or business or wealth which are much more at risk to the hazards of business and money. When Csikszentmihalyi talked about family relationships he was not talking about families or business of families of wealth. He was referring to typical families and the need to build their emotional equity. In families of business and wealth, there is a greater risk, I believe, due to the fact that business and financial differences often erode family relationships. What he had to say supports the notion of a reciprocal commitment to each other's success, which is the O part of the B.O.S.S. Csikszentmihalyi (1997) said that "A group of people is kept together by two kinds of energy - material energy provided by food, warmth, physical care, and money; and the psychic energy of people investing attention in each other's goals" (p. 110). Essentially, Csikszentmihalyi supports the notion that it is critical to invest in the emotional equity of the family by paying attention to each other's goals and investing what he terms psychic energy into the family. At the same time he says, "Now that the integrity of the family has become a matter of personal choice, it cannot survive except for the regular infusion of psychic energy" (p. 111). Finally, Csikszentmihalyi writes about the idea of a joint goal, or what I would call a common family vision, when he says "Only when there is harmony between the goals of the participants, when everyone is investing psychic energy into a joint goal does being together become enjoyable" (p. 113). Basically, psychic energy is just another way of understanding the reciprocal commitment to each other's success - when you put psychic energy into the development of relationships in family businesses, as well as the family as a whole, it promotes the common good, the emergence of the family point of view through the promotion and embodiment of the common family vision.

The third form of the promotion of the reciprocal commitment has to do with the concept of kything - a term discussed by Gail Straub (2000) in her book Rhythm of Compassion - is another synonym for psychic energy and the O part of the B.O.S.S. Kything is a Scottish word that means connecting at a spiritual level. Kything is not psychological, it is spiritual - to kyth is to present your soul to another. The idea is that kything happens through communion - the evolutionary step in making the communion conscious or purposeful.

In the Danz family, mentioned above, each member of the family has an individual vision so that each becomes a vision-driven person as opposed to problem-focused. The idea is to put your spiritual energy into the well being of another. M. Scott Peck in his book, The Road Less Traveled (1978) called this concept love. The idea is for each family member to realize the other are putting energy into their success. Each person recites, on a daily basis, their own individual vision for what they are committed to and for what they are trying to do in their lives - both in and out of the family business. In addition, each person kyths to the other members of the family that which they want.

In the Danz family example, described above, you can see the individual visions of the other members of the family who participated in the project. The dad kything to his wife, Violet; his son, Saul, his daughter-in-law, Joan, and his oldest son, Jon, that which they want. The idea is to kyth that which they want and as a member of the family, you know that the other members of the group are making a tremendous commitment to your success; they are putting psychic energy or kything or implementing the O part of the B.O.S.S., whichever you prefer, into success of the other.

The Common Family Vision is the embodiment of the soul of the family business, as well as the prayer for loving kindness, the individual vision and kything prepare the soil, the seeds or the dialog that takes place in family meetings to continue the garden metaphor, it is the preparation of the soil that allows the seeds - the spiritual seeds - the family's soul, to emerge in the concept of dialog and the formation of the family point of view.

For dialogue to emerge, I encourage family members to develop Collaborative Team Skills (Miller, 1994, 2005), which consists of four components: talking skills; listening skills; communication styles; and mapping an issue or problem-solving map. Families sometimes resist implementing these fundamental skills, but I suggest to them that even the New York Yankees go to spring training every year to brush up on the fundamentals. The talking and listening skills and communication styles are easily understandable and become a rich resource to the family in their ongoing dialog. This applies both to the family and the family business as they sort out the various issues. The benefit using the same Collaborative Team Skills is having the whole family be on an even playing field - all having the same model for communication and dialog, as well as the ground rules that will guide them to an effective discussion of the issues. The program is in a simple format that makes it easy to introduce to a family business.

The Collaborative Team Skills' application not only supports the development of effective dialog within the family business, but also supports the cross-cultural notions of Angeles Arrien (1993) in her work collected in The Four-Fold Way. The third of Arrien's concepts - the way of visionary - is to be able to speak your truth without judgment, criticism or blame. The idea is being able to talk about reality and being able to "say it is so." In her seminars on The Four-Fold Way™, Arrien discusses the three cross-cultural rules that allow families to avoid conflict. They include:

Say what you mean
Do what you say, and
Say it is so when it is so.

When it comes to saying it is so when it is so, Arrien operates on the "Rule of Three." The first rule is to say it within 24 hours, and if this is not possible, three days, and at the absolute maximum, no more than one week.

Basically, the Collaborative Team Skills allows families to have the kind of dialog necessary to create their family point of view. The purpose of Rule 3 is to not let issues linger - it is not unusual in the context of families and family businesses for family members to avoid talking about something because they are fearful that if they do, it will upset family relationships. In public presentations, I often refer to this dynamic as "Hubler's Speck of Dust Theory" - a famous theory taught in all of the business schools across the country. Unfortunately, no one has heard of the theory, but the rule operates where family members are reluctant to talk about a business or financial issue in their family business because if they do it will upset the family getting together for a holiday, e.g., Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. As a result, they create the very thing that they are trying to avoid - an unhappy family. Utilizing Rule 3 makes it possible for family members to discuss issues in a timely and current fashion.

The final aspect of the process is having regular or periodic family meetings to create a forum for dialog. Family meetings, in the context of family businesses, have many potential functions, but one of the main functions is to create a format so that family members can get together and have the kind of dialog that would allow for the emergence of the moral infrastructure and the ethical norms. The nurturance of the soul and the common vision, as well as the reciprocal commitment to each other's success creates an environment that allows the family to constructively dialog about the important aspects of the their lives and their sense of being. It is in the context of these discussions that the family point of view emerges and their unique family resources develop to create the leverage and business advantage that allows family businesses to be successful. It is their "secret sauce" - a unique set of spiritual principles that formulate the family's edge and give them their specialness that affects their performance in the marketplace. Family businesses that continue to develop their soulfulness and who are committed not only to the development of the emotional equity of the family, but of each other, can anticipate strong dialog and family resources that will abundantly positively affect their firm performance.

We can help you identify and foster the soul of your family business with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm and Wealth Care Management^sm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

References
Arrien, A. Four-Fold Way™ Program. Retrieved October 31, 2008 from http://www.angelesarrien.com/four-fol.htm

Arrien, A. (1993). The Four-Fold Way: Walking the paths of the warrior, teacher, healer and visionary. San Francisco: HarperOne.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow: The psychology of engagement within everyday life. New York: Basic Books, a divison of HarperCollins Publishers

Miller, S., Ph.D. (1994, 2005). Collaborative Team Skills (2nd ed.) USA: Interpersonal Communication Programs, Inc.

Peck, S.M. (1978). The Road Less Traveled. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Straub G. (2000) Rhythm of Compassion: Caring for Self, Connecting with Society. Boston: Tuttle Publishing

Whyte, D. (1994). The Heart Aroused. New York: Currency, a division of Bantum Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

Emotional Equity is a Business Best Practice

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Like any business, a family business strives to build the equity of the company. However, as a business family, shareholders have a second concern to build the emotional equity of the family. Whether the business of the family is large or small, multiple branches or simply a little start-up, it requires a commitment to strengthen family relationships and build family trust.

One way that works well to build relationships and trust is when the family divides its family meeting time between conducting business and having fun. Informal as well as organized fun activities build family harmony. Some families hold a family meeting at a special place like Disney World. These family trips may not occur every year, but they provide such positive experiences that they are a topic of happy conversation for years.

The true legacy of any business family
is not merely a stronger business,
but a stronger family as well.

Another way to build the emotional equity of the shareholders is to combine family time with business activity by holding an annual family retreat. I know of a family that brings everyone together at the family cabin each year. While the adults are in their meeting, the grandmother hires several summer camp counselors to do arts and crafts with the grandkids, who love the opportunity to get together with their cousins. Time is set aside where the grandparents share their history with their grandchildren. At one such meeting the grandparents began by showing photographs of themselves when they were younger and told stories about those years ago - how they met, dated, married, and managed. The grandchildren sat spellbound as they listened and asked questions. The entire experience with the grandparents was videotaped and made into a DVD for each of the families.

These are a few examples of how families build emotional equity. In previous articles I have mentioned other examples, such as involving adult children and grandchildren in service projects. In this way grandparents not only demonstrate family values of gratitude, but also bring the family together and create priceless memories. Given the complexities of all of our lives it is important for the younger shareholders to take an active role in creating family activities and not rely solely on the initiative of their parents.

Business families have the extra challenge to build their family's emotional equity and not neglect it in the day-to-day demands of running the business. For business families it is not easy to separate work life from home life because the family is the business. As a result, the family needs to consciously discuss and share family values, family heritage, and involve the entire family in service and philanthropy work.

As shareholders discuss their roles in creating the future of their business family, the conversation will inevitably move to stewardship and legacy. While it is important for the younger shareholders to draw from their parents' energy for connecting the siblings and cousins, an equal amount of energy to build the emotional equity of the family needs to come from the younger generation of shareholders. The true legacy of any business family is not merely a stronger business, but a stronger family as well.

Building the shareholder legacy of family harmony is a gift to the future, and not only for the family - research indicates it is a significant gift, one that shows up in the profits of the business. At your next family meeting include a discussion of the ways to strengthen your family's emotional equity. I know you will not regret it.

Shareholder Education

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

When it comes to family business, what's a shareholder to do?

The conventional wisdom in family-owned businesses is that what shareholders do is elect the board of directors and that's pretty much it. Not so in today's world.

John Carver, a noted author who developed the policy model for boards of directors called "Policy Governance," has this succinct advice: "Noses in, fingers out." I suggest that is great counsel for business families. Understand as much as you can about the strategic issues of the business without meddling in the day-to-day operations.

What then are the responsibilities of the shareholders in a family-owned business? I recently had the privilege to talk with the fifth generation of a business family. The group ranged from college-age to early forties, and I presented two lists of responsibilities to that shareholder group.

Responsibilities as a Shareholder

Develop financial literacy. Be able to read a balance sheet and a profit-and-loss statement.
Describe what you consider the family values and principles of doing business.
Define how you "own" the family's strategy and communicate to the board how to govern family priorities.
Define (and then demand) reasonable returns on shareholder equity and invested assets.
Establish family expectations for distributions, liquidity, redemptions, dividends and buy-sell agreements, and communicate them to the board.
Establish shareholder development, education and leadership as a company and family priority.

(For a complete understanding of these principles you may want to read Ernesto Poza's Family Business, 3rd Edition, Chapter 3).

Responsibilities as Family in the Family Council

Create a common family vision to unite the family and build trust.
Create opportunities for family business education.
Create a culture of transparency in family communications, business and financial matters.
Create, maintain and celebrate family rituals.
Create a standard for family communication that is win-win and promotes a trusting family culture.
Discuss shareholder development and the purpose-driven life.
Discuss how wealth and money can incorporate the family's values concerning service, philanthropy and gratitude.

I believe these two lists are so important that the next two articles in future issues will expand on how to implement both business and family expectations. I have long held that it is necessary to build the emotional equity of your family while you are building the fiscal equity of your business. All shareholders assume responsibility for these two lists of responsibilities, whether they are employed by the company or not, because both contribute critically to business family success.

Where's A Shareholder to Go?

There are three types of meetings in family-owned businesses:

1. Ownership Meetings - Only the business owners attend.

2. Employee Meetings - Only the family members employed by the business attend.

3. Family Meetings or a Family Council for larger families - Open to all adults in the family. Shareholders get to exercise their role in the context of Family Meetings where the family formulates its own expectations for the business, communicates those expectations to the shareholders, and shareholders elect the board of directors who carry out the family's expectations for the company. In larger families the Family Council has, along with its elected responsibilities, the ability to organize family meetings and provide the governance function for the family.

Family Business Planning Overlooked Yet Vital to Continued Success

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Do you neglect planning in your family businesses? It's not unusual. Entrepreneurs who run family businesses often spend all their time doing business rather than managing it. The value of planning in a family business is discovered too late. It doesn't have to be that way. We can help you define and strengthen your culture by finding the best way to sustain your company's success. Through planning, the family business can:

Confidently build for the next generation
Prepare, project and maintain the heritage
Fairly balance the interests and perspectives of everyone-employees, family employees and family members not in the business
Stimulate unencumbered business operations

FAMILY BUSINESS PLANNING INSIGHTS.

The only truly enduring competitive advantage is a trusted, principled company culture of committed people aligned to a common family vision. Each family is unique and every business works differently. But competitors cannot copy the spirit and interactions of your people.

We also have access to many professionals who can provide insight into these family business planning topics:

Strategic planning
Strategic alignment
Marketing plan
Objective performance metrics
Family and business unity
Unique Selling Position
Branding and key messages
Team building
Formal business plan
Owner agreement on plan assumptions
Establishing a board of directors

Help ensure a more successful future for yourself and generations to come. We can help you with your family business planning with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Management & Leadership in a Family Run Business Don't Just Appear By Magic

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

The founder and entrepreneur of the family business is the architect of the transition. The transition of management and leadership in a family run business is also a migration to a new system; a system with professional management and more formally communicated processes.

Tom Hubler helps you develop leadership within your family run business and manage the transition.

You'll know how to answer complex personnel questions:

Who will be the leader, who is capable and how do we know?
When and how should leadership be passed to the next leader?
How do we develop leadership and reward merit?
How can former leaders play a productive, respected role?

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.

Hubler for Business Families offers training and advice in these areas:

Leadership assessment
Skill leveraging, career planning
Leadership selection and succession
Involvement of family members
Coaching/mentorships
Job descriptions
Performance appraisals
Compensation planning
Family compensation
Employee benefits
Rewards by merit
Evolving to professional management
Equitable treatment
Managing differences
Collaborative decision-making
Life career planning for former leaders
Retirement planning

Running any business requires a myriad of management skills. We can help you lead your family-run business more effectively with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Why Bother With Family Business Estate Planning?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

It's easy to ignore the need for estate planning in your family business. Excuses for postponing estate planning for family businesses are easy to manufacture: It might distract from running the business. It might create bad feelings. And so forth. But family business estate planning has a huge upside.

Unite the family, maintain a legacy and create success for all
Keep the family culture in a corporate business

FAMILY BUSINESS ESTATE PLANNING REQUIRES A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; A CRASH PROGRAM WON'T WORK.

Since 1980, Hubler for Business Families has helped large and small family businesses find economic peace of mind.

Forge real answers to the five key areas of an ownership plan.

Determine if the next generation will be in the business
Create economic security for the senior generation
-Systematic ownership exit plan
-Best way to liquefy the asset
Devise equitable treatment among the children
Minimize estate taxes
Develop family awareness so that everyone is at peace with the plan

We can also refer you to experts in these financial and legal issues associated with family business estate planning:

Interim and long-term planning
Family ownership restructuring
Governance
Ownership transfer
Stock transfers
Distribution policy
Executive benefit consulting
Wealth preservation
Estate planning
Asset protection
Tax planning and minimization
Insurance and investment advice

The future will be here before you know it. We can help you with estate planning for your family business with Estate Planning and our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Succession Planning is Your Family Business Your Future Depends on it

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

For many families, the business is everything. It provides them with income, purpose, equity, opportunity and a future. The trouble is, too many families overlook the need to provide a future for the business. They don't have a succession plan. Why? Despite its overwhelmingly positive outcomes, people fear family business succession planning will make them uncomfortable.

EMBRACE THE FUTURE OF YOUR FAMILY BUSINESS.

Tom Hubler discusses
Succession Management

We won't sugar coat the issues of family business succession planning. But our experience, understanding and comprehensive array of resources allow us to solve your problems sensitively and thoroughly.

We're adept at overcoming the most significant roadblocks to family business succession planning:

Tackle the unspoken issues
Create individual and organizational strategies
Develop unencumbered business operations
Nurture positive family relationships
Preserve and grow wealth

Thinking about tomorrow today can help your family business thrive from one generation to the next. We can help with your family business succession planning with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Family Business Consultants as Leaders

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Working with family businesses as a consultant is one of the most awesome responsibilities I can imagine. It incorporates managing family issues and concerns as well as business issues and concerns and the interrelationship between the two. The impact of choices made by the consultant can have far-reaching effects for both family and business that can impact generations of family members.

As the field of family business consulting evolves, and there are more and more practitioners and other professionals such as lawyers, accountants and insurance people working with family businesses, there will also concurrently be more discussions about "client failures." From the consultant's perspective, these are situations where, in retrospect, the choices made in regard to assisting the client did not achieve the desired result - in terms of either the family or the business issues.

Though success or failure may be easy to recognize in retrospect, they are elusive and difficult to define conceptually. In a chapter entitled "Failure: Our Bold Companion," David Keith and Carl Whitaker quote Rudyard Kipling's famous line: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same..." (Kipling, 1940).

In my own practice of family business consulting, there are times that I look back upon and realize that an intervention or a suggestion to a client was inappropriate. What has enabled me to evolve and, I hope, be more effective is the opportunity to meet with my study group to analyze and understand what went wrong and what I could do differently.

Fritz Perls was often quoted as saying we only learn from our mistakes. Len Hirsch, one of my mentors, often said that clients never make mistakes; it's always the responsibility of the consultant. For me, being willing to talk about these mistakes or failures more publicly or present a program on the topic of client failures would take even greater courage, in addition to candor and humility. To do so, a presenter would need to expose her or his professional work, consulting mistakes, and something about herself or himself in analyzing a case failure publicly.

I have a tremendous amount of admiration for some presenters who were willing to do just that at a recent Family Firm Institute conference. Their courage and willingness to take on this daunting task and expose themselves, their philosophies and choices to all who attended demonstrated the kind of leadership I think is important for the continued evolution of the field of family business consulting. It will take leadership on the part of all practitioners who are willing to publicly examine their work and take on the leadership responsibilities that are part of working with families and business.

In his chapter "Leading from Within: Out of the Shadow, into the Light," Parker Palmer (Conger & Associates, 1994) quotes Vaclav Havel on the notion of leadership as it applies across the board beyond politicians and heads of nation states to classroom teachers and so on. His point is that anyone in a position of power over other people is a leader in the broad sense of the word and, therefore, has a duty to take on the responsibilities that go with that type of leadership. I believe that this is clearly the case in the context of family-owned businesses. As long as we continue to work with family businesses, each of us has a special responsibility to explore what is going on inside our own conscience. Otherwise we have the potential to do more harm than good.

David Whyte (1996) discusses this same issue in a little different perspective in his second chapter entitled, "Beowulf." Beowulf is a masculine story about the descent into the waters of the unconscious. All of us stand at the edge of our own inner pool of darkness and its monsters which, out of fear, we have a tendency to want to avoid.

Whyte addresses the modern corporation and the equivalent of those repressed monsters from Beowulf that lie just below the surface of our professional lives. He lists a few of the many. The most important include:

"Unresolved parent-child relationships that play out into rigid company hierarchies, paternal management systems and dependent employees; unresolved emotional demands individuals may have of fellow workers, but many never admit to themselves; the refusal to come to terms with an abused childhood, the subsequent longing for self-protection and the wielding of organizational power and control at any cost to gain that protection. Perhaps the parent of all of these vulnerabilities is Beowulf's mother herself, the deep physical shame that we are not enough, will never be enough, and can never measure up." (p. 53)

While Whyte talks about these in the context of the corporate world, they are certainly present for all consultants. If we think about Vaclav Havel's admonition to take responsibility for our own consciousness lest our involvement create more harm than good, we are then compelled to confront the depths of our souls and move to a deeper understanding of our inner experiences. Each of us has a family of origin that constantly influences our perspective, our intervention, and our advice to clients. The more we understand these influences, the more effective we can be in not projecting our own experiences onto our clients. Palmer (1994) comments:

Great leadership comes from people who have made the downward journey through violence and terror, who have touched the deep place where we are in community with each other, and who can help take the rest of us to that place. That is what great leadership is all about. (p. 28)

All family business consultants and other professionals who work with family businesses, have a responsibility to go inside themselves and develop a more effective understanding of their own inner experiences. We must begin to ponder, in a deeper and more systematic way, our personal and professional experiences, and primarily from our families of origin, that could negatively affect the work we do with our family business clients.

In order to create light out of shadow, Palmer (1994) calls us to address five areas of shadow that could affect and could be projected onto our work with family business clients. Since most of our world as consultants is extroverted, it is often difficult to recognize our projections as well as take a more introspective approach to our work and to the bias we bring to our work. Hence the call to go inside and ponder these questions as they might affect our work with family-owned businesses.

I will first cite Palmer's five areas of shadow and then go back and discuss how they might apply to our work with family-owned businesses. The first is "a deep insecurity about our own identity and self-worth." The second shadow has to do with the perception that "the universe is essentially hostile to human interests and that life is fundamentally a battleground." The third shadow in leaders and consultants is what he calls "'functional atheism' - the belief that the ultimate responsibility for everything rests with me." The fourth shadow is fear around the natural chaos of life. The final shadow is the denial of death. Each of these shadows has a potential negative impact on our consulting of family-owned businesses and warrants further examination.

First, because consultants are in an externally focused profession, it is very difficult to recognize the fact that, underneath all of their self-assuredness, they have issues and concerns like everyone else about their own sense of identity and self-worth. It is sometimes manifested in their work with clients and, if the consultant-leader is unaware of it, he or she can project their fears and insecurity onto their clients and end up creating systems and solutions that deprive others of dealing with these issues and their own identity.

In his work in building learning organizations, Peter Senge (1990) often talks about people becoming their roles. This happens to consultants who are unavailable to deal with their own inner fears about their identity. In addition, they are often afraid to challenge their clients in unexplored areas of their own identity. Instead, the consultant takes on the role of expert and often robs the client of opportunities for growth and development of his or her own potential.

The gift according to Palmer (1994) is that, if I am able to ponder this question, I will know that who I am does not depend on what I do. Knowing this about ourselves frees us as consultants to be flexible and create options that will benefit our clients.

The second shadow has to do with seeing the world as hostile to human interest and life as a battleground. I have often heard lawyers talk about "it is necessary to eat what you kill." The battleground analogy often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Essentially, this mentality is born out of a sense of scarcity rather than abundance. As a result, professionals don't refer when they should, and they take on the philosophy of Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery in Lake Woebegon, Minnesota. Ralph's philosophy is: "If we don't have it here, you don't need it." As a result, consultants fail to collaborate with each other, and they begin to operate under what I describe as "delusions of adequacy." They don't learn from each other or benefit from the synergy of their different perspectives on how to assist the client. The gift for those consultant leaders who are willing to take the challenge is the knowledge that the universe is working together for good and a tremendous sense of abundance. Collaborating with other professionals will not diminish my practice, and I will not lose my influence with my client.

The third shadow is "functional atheism." Consultants who operate with the belief that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with them and that they make it happen, basically disempower their clients. Their assumption is: "Just let me do it." They are often plagued with workaholism and burnout. The gift, again if they are willing to ponder this shadow, is the realization that they are not the only act in town. They are co-creators with their clients and other professionals. Again, it is the synergy of the work with the consulting team that creates the best solutions. Ultimately, the challenge is to trust others - not only other professionals, but also the clients themselves. It is generally their insights and their ideas that create the best solutions.

The fourth shadow is fear around the natural chaos of life. Fear is something that affects consultants as they work with the daunting challenges of being involved in a family-owned business. As a result of forgetting that creativity comes out of chaos, some consultants are prone to create structures, solutions and a sense of rigidity that sometimes is not in the best service of their clients. It represents to some extent a failure to integrate the J and the P on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The judging and perceptive function is the fourth of the four polarities discussed in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The judging function is organized and structured, while the perceptive function is more spontaneous and goes with the flow. Structure and premature closure often are not in the best interest of the client. Essentially, the consultants are avoiding the issues of change they were brought in to deal with and avoiding doing it differently. Often, as a result, they create outmoded technologies and simple solutions that are inappropriate. H. L. Mencken once commented on this issue when he said, "For every complex problem there are a multitude of simple solutions - all of which are wrong."

The gift of encountering this shadow and going inward, is the realization that creation comes out of chaos. However, it requires the discipline of learning to stay in the moment and live in the moment - something that is difficult not only for our clients, but also for ourselves. We come to realize that change can only occur in the moment, and it is essential that we learn the discipline of that challenge. It also requires us to accept the notion that people and organizations, despite our intuition to the contrary, thrive on chaos. If they can stay with it long enough and be disciplined not to create premature solutions, they will have positive results they could never have imagined.

The final shadow is the shadow of death. All the work that consultants of family-owned businesses do in regard to the ownership-succession process, as well as leadership succession, implicitly has to do with the issue of loss and death. Unless the consultant has come to terms with that issue in his or her own life, it is going to be problematic for the clients.

As a result of not integrating and coming to terms with that issue, consultants will artificially maintain the status quo and avoid helping the client deal with the letting-go and change issues in the family business succession transition. Often, a consultant is concerned about a negative evaluation, a public failure or getting a "pink slip," so, she or he avoids dealing with the critical transition issues in a succession planning process. Or, he or she may continue to try to work with and/or change a client beyond that which is reasonable.

The ability to ponder these mysteries and the shadow of death allows us to realize that death is natural. This is the gift. When we can allow things to die, new systems and new life will emerge. Ultimately, we come to the realization that death is an old friend. Denise Levertov's poem, "Talking to Grief," captures the essence, for me, of the integration of this issue. It has to do with recognizing that winter is coming and that I need to let that dog live under my porch so I can come to terms with the issues of change and loss in my own life. In doing so I can avoid projecting those issues onto my clients.

In my own practice, I encounter these shadows regularly. In some instances I am pleased with the results. In other instances I am disappointed with my response.

A recent client situation illustrates the first of two shadows that often challenge me as a consultant. "Functional atheism" is a frequent shadow of mine and manifests itself in my doing too much and not trusting the client. It combines with the first shadow - insecurity - to create a situation in which I, as a consultant, begin to operate with "delusions of adequacy" and think I know what is best for the client.

In this specific situation, a second-generation owner-entrepreneur in his early 70s and his spouse were at a Family Business Planning Meeting with their three adult children and their spouses. The purpose was to initiate succession planning discussions. I was anticipating that some stressful family revelations would come out during the meeting, so, prior to the meeting I had asked the owner-entrepreneur to be prepared and available, in an emotional sense, to his oldest son who was active in the business along with his sister and her husband. Quite to my surprise, the father came to the meeting with a letter he wanted to distribute at the outset.

I made it quite clear to the entrepreneur that I had a very specific process planned for the meeting. I told him it would be inappropriate to distribute copies of the letter to the family at this point in time because it would upset my sequence and schedule of events.

After his second and third request to share the letter, it finally dawned on me how inappropriate I was in not letting him do so. This was my delusion of adequacy and thinking that I know better than the client. As I finally realized this, I then suggested to the client that he read the letter to his family and distribute copies later.

This turned out to be one of the most profound meetings I have ever participated in. Rather haltingly and with tears, the client began to read his letter and share a metaphor about his life. He talked about his blessings and how he and his wife had been on a journey up the mountain for the past 50 years. "The summit," he said, "was foremost a truly great family relationship supported by a thriving business free and clear of debt. Obviously we have fallen short of our summit."

He went on to say that the time had come for him and his wife to descend the mountain and allow their children to take responsibility for their own journey. By this time, there was not a dry eye in the room. The father's story pierced the cold, emotional facade. It not only changed the course of the meeting, but it also made it possible for the family to reconnect emotionally and spend the first Easter in 10 years together as a family.

I am humbled to think how close I came to overlooking this significant opportunity for the family. I learned a lesson I will never forget.

The second shadow I meet regularly relates to loss and death. This shadow is the most profound, in that it requires that I, as a result of client situations, regularly confront the loss issues in my own life. In a recent unpublished paper entitled "Coming to Life Through the Blessings of Loss" (Hubler, 1998), I explore paradoxically the blessings available to me through integrating the loss issues in my life.

I mentioned earlier how hard it is to explore issues with clients if those areas are unexplored in the consultant's own life. This is particularly true in the shadow area of loss and death. A friend once told me that I am the most optimistic person he knows.

He said that I am the only one he knows who would try to get a 33-inch refrigerator through a 31-inch door. I am sure that a major part of that optimism in client situations is driven by my avoidance of loss issues, related to the loss of two sons at birth and the fear of losing my third, adult son who is depressed and mentally ill. I realize that, in this area, I am clearly vulnerable to creating unrealistic expectations, and sometimes a false sense of optimism, for clients. On the other hand, I realize the benefit of having explored the blessings of loss in that it enables me to help clients explore an area of family business loss that might otherwise go unaddressed and adversely effect the succession planning process.

A recent client situation illustrates this concept well. The Jones Company had worked with three previous consultants, including one family business consultant, over the past 10 years. Although some very good work occurred, it never lasted, and the problems persisted. At the point I became involved, the 67-year-old father and his 43-year-old eldest son, had not spoken to each other for the last four years. This was despite the fact that they worked side-by-side daily in a relatively small company.

When I asked at the Family Business Planning Meeting what the two of them (father and son) had in common, the family was perplexed. I shared my perception that both of them had lost their father at an early age. It was as if a light bulb went on; both of them began to soften as they explored what I meant. The dad had lost his father at age ten, and, to this day, he continues to use an endearing yet demeaning nickname given to him by his father before his death. The son in this situation had lost his father - figuratively - as the business eroded their relationship over the past 28 years.

Paradoxically, as they have explored and begun to understand the loss issue present for both, they have been able to rekindle the love in their relationship. I like to think of this process metaphorically as "sailing into the wind." As I work with clients around succession issues, I often find it necessary to tack, just as I would if I were sailing into the wind. Talking about loss has enabled these two men to heal their relationship. It has created an opening to initiate a formal ownership succession process that has eluded them for the past 10 years.

The closing line in Mary Oliver's 1992 poem, "When Death Comes," is an inspiration to me as I encounter these loss issues. She writes:

When it's over I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was a bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited the world.

When it comes to consulting with family businesses, I clearly do not want to have only visited this world. I want to make something of my life experiences and my shadows that also allows me to bring light to my clients.

As the field of family business continues to evolve, it will be important to continue to encourage workshops and study groups that support the idea of learning from our mistakes. At the same time, it is equally important and equally courageous to continue to support the idea and value of our inner work of dealing with our shadows. We need to acknowledge and admit our mistakes, and use them as opportunities to bring us to higher levels of sophistication with our family business clients. The interdisciplinary study group process that I participate in which includes case presentations has been an excellent resource for me to understand my biases and how I can be more effective and bring light to my family business clients. Each of us has the responsibility to accept the leadership challenge of Vaclav Havel and continue to the best of our ability to bring light rather than darkness to the clients we encounter.

References

Coleman, S. B. (1985). Failures in family therapy. New York: The Guilford Press. Chap. 1, "Failure: Our Bold Companion," Keith, D. & Whitaker, C.

Conger, J. A. & Associates (1994). Spirit at work, Chap. 2, "Leading from Within: Out of the Shadow, into the Light," by Parker Palmer, pp. 19-41. Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco.

Hubler, Thomas M. (1998). Coming to Life Through the Blessings of Loss. Unpublished paper for Spirit at Work Seminar, Wisdom Ways Program, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Levertov, Denise (1975). Life in the forest. p. 43. New Directions Books: New York.

Oliver, Mary. (1992). New and selected poems. p. 10. Beacon Press: Boston.

Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. Doubleday Publishers: New York.

Whyte, D. (1996). The heart aroused. Chap. 2, "Beowulf - Power and Vulnerability in the Workplace," pp. 31-71. Doubleday Publishers: New York.

Do Family and Business Meet or Collide?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

These intersecting circles help explain the vast majority of family business problems. The way we see it, the overlap between family and business is an organizational problem, but people within the family business experience it as an interpersonal issue. That's why family members commonly blame each other for the situation. The senior generation sometimes blames the younger generation. And vice versa.

You then have to ask: "what causes the family business problem and what's getting in the way?" It's difficult to find the answer without the expertise and insight of outside advisors. We can help to resolve family disputes and avoid family litigation.

ACHIEVING A BETTER BALANCE BETWEEN FAMILY AND BUSINESS.

To solve family business problems, the Hubler for Business Families approach is to simultaneously work on both the family and business sides of the equation to create a better sense of balance.

Family - develop Family Plan, outlining how to be a family without undue influence of the business.
Business - develop: Ownership, Management and Leadership Plans, insuring the continued success of the business, secure financial relationships, profitability and, believe it or not, positive family relationships.

When family business problems threaten to undermine family relationships, we've got proven solutions that work to minimize stress while enhancing communication and understanding. To see how we can help your family and your business work together and separately with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

When the Business of Your Family is Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The defining qualities of a business contrast starkly with those of the family. While a family is nurturing, a business must be productive. It values competency and candor in order to embrace change and create success. Of course, the skills and sensibilities of business can play a positive role in your family. Business discipline and financial savvy, for instance, positively influence families and their success.

Still, the business and the family differ greatly when it comes to participation, values and change. Unlike family systems, in business:

Participation is based on interest; it is voluntary
Competence and productivity are the most valued qualities
Change is a must for success

HOW WOULD YOU DIAGRAM YOUR FAMILY AND BUSINESS?
Family and business overlap is unavoidable. Some overlap between family and business is healthy. But how much? And how can the systems be brought into balance?

Our first and only job is providing family business services to families like yours. We can help with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Is it a Family-Run Business or Vice-Versa?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

The family-run business faces unique obstacles. Business differences can tear apart families because the family and business have different (even opposing) goals. While family is protective and loyal with strong emotional ties, these positive qualities can lead to resisting or minimizing change in a business setting.

Your values and culture often become the corporate culture of your family business in a very positive way. Quality, service and community involvement are very easily traced to family values and culture.

Family systems encourage:

Participation
Values
Balance in relationships

WHAT'S THE GOAL?

To create a common family vision and develop a family plan for your family-run business. This vision and plan glue everything together.

Hubler for Business Families can help the family-run business:

Unite the family behind a primary purpose
Inspire teamwork and individual support for the common good
Devise a measuring stick to evaluate family and individual behaviors
Inform family members of their own development
Establish a model for change, even transformation.

Make running the family-run business an easier job for everyone - we can help with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Understanding Both Sides of Family Business Management

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

To help you understand the issues of family business management, we've developed a working model of the family business. It consists of two intersecting circles. The first represents your family; the second, your business.UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR BALANCE IN FAMILY BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.

What issues are you facing in your family business? Do they lie in the family circle, the business circle, or in the overlap? The answers may surprise you. An organizational problem in the business, for instance, may be mistaken for interpersonal problem in the overlap of family and business. We can help you identify and locate the real issues. Then, together, we can build a family business management plan to resolve them.

We can help you to improve your family business management today with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Family Members Entering the Business Checklist

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Family businesses are all about the family, yet major heartaches can occur when next generation adult children enter the business. The next generation often begin as teens working part-time and eventually evolve into fulltime positions. Expectations for performance might be ambiguous. They are made more complicated by father-son or father-daughter tensions. If the company employs several family members, sibling rivalries can make it even worse.

Here are three quick examples from my own experience.

Example one. The youngest of three brothers had just graduated from college. When he arrived for work he was told, "Take this 'SOB' division and do something with it." The kid had been handed a job description: "do something." Imagine the anxiety and confusion that caused.

Example two. A competitive father brought his son into the business without clearly defining required performance. With no direction, the son floundered and soon left the company. Even highly successful companies are not immune to these problems. Not long ago, Robert Murdock's son left their legendary business in a huff.

Example three. Three brothers owned a construction company. Each had high aspirations for his son (daughters were automatically excluded because of their gender). Each brought his son into the business in different ways. In a further complication, each son had a different education background.

Each brother was so enthusiastic about his own son that he overlooked his son's mistakes and training errors. Everything was ambiguous: performance standards, roles, responsibilities, mentoring approach, criteria for selecting leaders. This created problems among the brothers as they became defensive about feedback on their son's poor performance. It also produced problems between the uncles and nephews. In spite of their talents and successes, the brothers had not prepared a plan for family participation. Formal guidelines are critical when family members enter the business.

Here is my tried-and-true checklist developed over the years.

Employment eligibility - Who can be employed? What about spouses?
Entry - What is the criteria for joining the company? Education? Work outside the company? Promotions?
Summer employment - What are the expectations for summer employment? Compensation standards? Protocol and behavior standards?
Intern program - Will the company offer intern programs to family members in college? What are the guidelines?
Fulltime employees - What are the expectations of fulltime employment (eligibility, entry and compensation, career and leadership planning)?
Career planning - Will career planning be offered to family members in the company as well as family members not active in the company? (I recommend that all family members, even those not active in the company, receive the opportunity for career planning. This offsets the advantage of family members who work in the company.) What is the plan to mentor, coach and select who in the next generation will be in leadership positions?
Poor performance and termination - What are the criteria for family behavior in the company. What is cause for termination?
Conduct and protocol - Family members often establish guidelines for conduct expected of all family, i.e., work harder and be role models. (Is this a good thing? Seems it would be better stated as a question like the others, but I'm confused by its purpose since "family behavior" is in the "poor performance and termination" bullet, and thus feels a bit redundant. Perhaps combine these two bullets?)
Non-family managers - What is expected of non-family managers. What are the limits of their authority and accountability? (I usually recommend an employment agreement that gives non-family managers the security they need to effectively train and manage "the boss's" children.)
Compensation - Is the father out of the equation? (I suggest using an outside board member to recommend a salary, incentives and bonuses for all family members working in the company.)

Family businesses that invest the time to develop these guidelines can avoid problems and be more successful as both a business and a family. Research shows that it directly improves the bottom line.

What is your plan to support family participation and better profits? If it isn't written down - and in detail - it doesn't exist.

We can help you write your plan with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Last Challenge of Entrepreneurship

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Looking back across this four-part series on the last challenge of entrepreneurship, we recognize that the challenge is about looking ahead - to legacy and your gift to the future. You accomplish the last challenge by finding your place in the company and doing what has heart and meaning for you (Part One); by fine-tuning your family legacy around family values, history, heritage and creating an ethical will (Part Two); by finding your replacement and developing the governance structure and leadership system for the company (Part Three); and by focusing on service and philanthropy (Part Four).

Service and philanthropy arise from happiness, gratitude and compassion. But the greatest significance is not the entrepreneur's act of giving, but in leading the family to embracing it. The entrepreneur creates a philanthropic spirit by establishing regular family meetings where everyone can discuss and evaluate whether or not the family shares the same values about money and wealth. This is where happiness, gratitude and compassion come in.

What creates happiness? In his outstanding book, Finding Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi sees three things that create flow or fulfillment in people's lives: work, active leisure time and relationships. Entrepreneurs certainly recognize how work can help produce a happy life. But, for full happiness we need to manifest our calling or spiritual gifts - the person we are, the passions we carry.

Parker Palmer speaks to this same topic in his book, Let Your Life Speak. Palmer writes, "Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood..." To me that means discovering your spiritual gifts. Your gift to the future is to also help your children recognize and "live" their spiritual gifts.

Gratitude is a special gift that stimulates philanthropy. In fact, philanthropy is the antidote to consumption and the thousands of advertisements to buy and consume that experts say our children receive every day. Having regular family meetings focused on philanthropy and getting each member of the family involved at an appropriate age is critical to the development of gratitude.

In my own family, when my oldest granddaughter, Kailey, was in first grade and six years old, I gave her a "share" check. I told her, "Many kids don't have money to buy books, pencils that they need for school." I said that she could give that check as a present to her school or church.

Kailey immediately asked, "Does this check take the place of my Christmas presents?" "No," I said, "You will always receive your Christmas presents, but from now on, you would also receive a share check."

Fast forward to second grade. Kailey called me and said, "Grandpa, I need some money." "What for, I asked?" "I'm in the Heart Association Jump-a-thon and would like some money." "How much do you need?" "I don't know," said Kailey. I responded, "Will ten dollars do?" "That's great grandpa; now I have a hundred dollars."

My granddaughter is already philanthropic, developing positive money memories, and most importantly, gaining a sense of gratitude for her blessings.

Service is "experiential philanthropy." "Service is on the outside like prayer is on the inside," writes T. Michael Thompson in his book, The Congruent Life. Many families that we work with involve their children at an early age in service projects. One family helps deliver Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels. Another family hosts a picnic and 4th of July fireworks celebration for a local children's home. The parents and their four adult children, spouses, six grandchildren and many of their friends join in serving at these wonderful events.

The parents who organize the events are role models who walk their talk. They are living examples for their children and grandchildren. They are living their legacy.

In Success that Lasts, Laura Nash tells us not to wait until we are 65 years old to start thinking about our legacy. In my experience, life creates legacy. As you reach the point in your career where the "last challenge" goes on your to-do list, I trust you will find it one of the most exciting parts of your "work" as you harvest the blessing of your life and plant seeds of future success for your family and business.

We can help determine your service and philanthropy goals with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Changing the Generations in a Family Owned Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

Ten ideas to successfully prepare for a changing of the guard.
"The kids are taking over the company." That thought can strike fear in the hearts of non-family managers and family members alike. It is definite, yet filled with ambiguity; stimulating and intimidating at the same time. Here is my list of ten important things younger generation adult children can do to smooth their transition into leadership in the family-owned business so that everyone involved feels positive and vital.

Regularly express your appreciation to Father and Mother for the opportunity they created for you. Your expressed thanks are essential for a successful family business relationship. Parents in their sixties and seventies seek validation for their business accomplishments. When appreciation is not expressed, parents often feel that the children are ungrateful.
Nurture a reciprocal commitment to each other's success. This is important between parent and child as well with siblings. Without this expressed, demonstrated mutuality, enormous tension can arise. With this commitment the family works as a team in their business.
Establish agreed-upon ground rules for how you will become part of the business. Use business sources and your parent's experience to establish how you will enter, train, be accountable, develop leadership, use mentoring, be compensated and work with siblings, generations and non-family managers. Pre-defined ground rules help prevent arguments and can save enormous amounts of time. The younger generation should take initiative to work with their parents and see that these rules are defined.
Formalize all agreements to prevent further misunderstandings. Hearing this, many family members will say, "We don't need to do that because we all love and trust each other." That's exactly why you need to do it. Love and trust is no guard against misunderstanding. I have found that the family-owned business that formalizes their ground rules, creates shareholder agreements and develops family participation plans tends to be more successful with less hurt feelings.
Define and adopt a Common Family Vision. This is a written understanding created out of the family's values on what you, your siblings, parents and all family members want to see perpetuated in the company and that unites your family. It envisions what you are and aspire to as a family.
As part of your family vision, strive for good communication and ways to manage differences. In any family, differences are normal, but many business families shy from discussing them because they fear it will create family disunity. I often hear clients say "We don't want to upset our family relationship. We don't want to ruin family celebrations, holidays, or events." Unfortunately, the reverse comes true: not talking about issues produces the family disunity you are trying to avoid. Regularly discuss and manage differences before they grow into problems.
Be willing to lead in organizing family meetings. Family-owned business meetings can be: 1) shareholder meetings where only shareholders attend; 2) employee meetings where only company-employed family members attend; and 3) family meetings where the entire family is invited to attend. Use this third place to work out the overlap between family and business and how it is managed (see diagram below).
Actively help to formalize plans necessary for success. While the senior generation is responsible for many of these plans, the younger generation helps by being actively involved. There are many different plans to formulate. First, develop a strategic business plan that draws out what is often only in the entrepreneur's head. Get those insights on paper. Second, when the time is right, have the family develop an ownership and estate plan and a management and leadership plan. Third, create a plan for how to be a family beyond the business. In my experience, business and financial differences will erode family relationships unless the family knows how to come together to preserve those relationships.
Build the emotional equity of your family as vigorously as you build the business equity. You read stories about couples who divorce yet keep their business relationships or siblings who squabble over business issues that ruin their family ties. To build emotional equity, celebrate and maintain family celebrations and traditions. These precious moments and events are the glue that holds a people together as a family and not just as a business.
Have fun with each other out of the office. Enjoy work and play. Meet for lunch or breakfast a few times each month. Share dinner occasionally. I have clients where the father and sons and a father and daughter get away at least once a year to golf, ski, or go to the theater. Time spent together enjoying each other away from the business builds emotional equity.

You can't accomplish this list in a few months, but you can select priorities to encourage and involve others in your family. Follow through on these ten ideas and I confidently guarantee smooth sailing when it's time for you to take the reins of your family business.

We can help your family owned business adapt to changing generations we can help with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Inside-out Succession Planning - Part 1

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

What motivates a successful plan?

Only about one in three first-generation family-owned businesses successfully transfer to the children. A quarter of those businesses fail to transition to a third generation. Why such dismal results?

In my experience, it's because the founder did not adequately plan for succession. The succession program was not anchored by a clear "inside out" reason.

Applying a Model

I coined the concept of Inside-out Succession planning from the realization that owner-entrepreneurs must first decide WHY to develop a succession plan. They must ask and answer "What is my core purpose?" Only then can a plan truly succeed.

What is that core purpose? Why would an entrepreneur plan for succession? Age? Family pressure? The feeling that "it's time to pass the baton?" Yes ... and no.

Yes, there can be different core purposes. They represent the inside ring of the model and include economic security, health, family unity and legacy. These four core purposes adequately identify the range of motivations for succession planning, which we will discuss in a moment.

But, no, a core purpose will not produce a successful succession plan as long as it remains vague or undefined, such as "I'm getting too old for this." The entrepreneur who has a clear purpose is motivated to give direction to the plan. Once motivated, the entrepreneur can integrate that core purpose into the four different, yet related, plans. These four plans are the perimeter of the Inside-out Succession Plan model, which I will discuss in Part 2.

Missing the Bull's-Eye

The core purpose is the bull's-eye to aim for and hit. Knowing the core purpose is the entrepreneur's critical first step in developing a succession plan.

I believe that many business families confuse succession planning with ownership planning. Ownership planning is just one of the four processes at the perimeter of the Inside-out Succession Plan model. Entrepreneurs go directly to an ownership plan because it is a common myth in family-business circles that the primary reason for completing ownership and estate planning (their concept of succession planning) is to avoid taxes. So by default (and unconsciously) the core purpose for succession plans becomes "avoiding taxes."

In my experience, it is not unusual for technical professionals to support this notion. They plan from the perimeter, or "outside in," using one of the areas depicted on the outer ring of the model.

When tax planning and tax savings replace the core purpose, a tax-driven program can create problems for the family. I frequently see ownership of stock gifted prematurely to younger-generation adult children, only to have those young adults say that they want to be bought out when it becomes time to plan for succession.

That's just one example of why the entrepreneur must first have a clear, underlying core purpose (bull's-eye) that drives succession planning. Let"s look more closely at these four different core purposes.

Economic Security

Owner-entrepreneurs who are in their 60s and 70s are often quite aware of the need for a financial exit strategy that guarantees their lifestyle. For years they put everything into the business they created and now need concrete assurance that they and their spouses can be sustained without putting the business or themselves at risk. Developing a financial exit strategy is critical for a family business. Economic security can be a major factor that includes a financial exit strategy, but succession planning should consider more than tax planning or tax savings.

Health

This can be a highly emotional motivation for succession planning because, whether stated or not, owner-entrepreneurs are implying that they are "playing the back nine." This can create fears: fear that they have to "let go," fear that they are "being forced out," even fear by others that their loss of leadership could harm the company.

To help overcome their fears, I developed a process called "The Last Challenge of Entrepreneurship." Essentially it means that entrepreneurs need not leave their companies. Instead, they need to change their job descriptions so they become designers and champions (along with their adult children) of the new ownership and leadership arrangement for their business. They are not "promoted out" but "promote the outcome."

Legacy

There comes a time in almost everyone's life when the person wonders, or at least thinks about, whether he or she has made a difference in the world. It's as natural as aging and doubly likely for individuals who started and sustained their own successful businesses. Harvard Business School's Laura Nash defines legacy as "your gift to the future to help others find future success." Nash is referring not only to the financial aspects of legacy but also to nonfinancial ones, such as family values, heritage, service and philanthropy.

This also implies another side of legacy: how we want to be remembered. When most entrepreneurs contemplate retirement, they begin to wonder whether others in the family appreciate what they, as business founders, have done for them.

Most entrepreneurs will deny it, saying they do not need to get or care about or have concerns about getting that kind of validation from their families. As a family-business consultant with a psychology background, I can state with confidence that this is a deep, significant and common desire to consider candidly when determining a core purpose for succession planning. Incidentally, this is also what younger-generation adult children are looking for - parental approval and appreciation for joining the family business.

Family Unity

No entrepreneur wants the family torn apart by business or financial differences. So to preserve family relationships, many families mistakenly avoid talking about their differences. I call this "Hubler's Spec of Dust Theory." Family members won't bring up differences - they keep sweeping them under the rug - because it might upset family gatherings, events or holidays. Yet by not discussing differences, they inadvertently create the very pile of dust they are trying to avoid. Thus, the core purpose of maintaining family unity could become a key driver for family-business succession planning.

Powering Purpose

An entrepreneur needs to determine what core purpose is the motivating reason for a succession plan. Is it economic security? Health? Legacy? Family Unity? Some combination?

Once that decision is made, the entrepreneur becomes the architect for building the succession plan. And with the involvement of adult children, the transfer of the company becomes an embracing, thoughtful process with a clear and successful outcome.

In Part 2 we will delve into succession plans and priorities more closely.

Emotionally Speaking - Exploring the poignant points of passing the torch

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

"Men know how to pass along the rules, the roles and the money, but they don't know how to pass along who they are as people." Richard Rohr, O.S.F.

In the above quote, Richard Rohr, a Franciscan monk, captures the essence regarding fathers and succession planning. Many family businesses go through a terrible time when the leadership succession process is in full swing. There is not only the technical matter of learning the job, but also the emotional matters of loss and the need for validation and passing the torch. Too often, little time and preparation are spent on succession in family businesses. It powerfully contributes to the fact that nearly 70 percent of family businesses fail to make the transition from the first to the second generation.

Just below the surface is dad's
secret expectation - never voiced -
to have his adult children express
some appreciation for what he has
done for them and for the family.

The entrepreneurial founder carries the inevitable concern about the well being of the business. "Does my son/daughter have what it takes to run the company? If they take over, what will I do with myself?" Just below the surface is dad's secret expectation - never voiced - to have his adult children express some appreciation for what he has done for them and for the family.

On the other hand, adult children are eager to take over, ready to try their hand at running the business. They may have educated themselves in business. They have invested years in the company hoping (waiting) to take over. They are eager to show their stuff, to demonstrate to their parents what they have learned. In their eagerness, they quietly bemoan the feeling that their parents really don't appreciate what they have to offer.

The kids secretly feel gratitude but are woefully unable to articulate it. The parents feel vague misgiving and loss, but are unwilling to mention it. Both sides feel under appreciated, or misunderstood, or worse. Unable to constructively, openly and directly discuss succession concerns, they polarize on the issue and blame each other for the reluctance to proceed.

In his Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences," August Wilson comments on this father-son dynamic. Speaking of the father near the end of the play he says:

"...he tried to teach you all the things that he wasn't, and at the same time you become all the things that he was."

While dad taught the rational, the child learned the emotional. While the child realized the rational, dad ignored the emotional. Given these dynamics, no wonder leadership succession planning can become so volatile. But how can the frustrations of the leadership succession planning process be avoided?

To my clients, I suggest that they create a leadership succession planning task force to address the issue. The task force consists of the entire leadership team, current and pending, including non-family managers.

Start early and get the whole leadership team involved to explore, together, the options for leadership succession. Establish the criteria, skills, education and expectations the family has regarding the position. Interview the owner-entrepreneur about his/her expectations and plan. Evaluate and train the next generation so that they are ready. Use non family managers to bridge any gaps while family leaders mature into their roles.

As you build a leadership team of the future, I also encourage you to simultaneously build the emotional equity of your father-son and father-daughter relationships. Make time in your busy schedules to nurture your relationships. Spend time with each other at weekly lunches, periodic nights out and sporting activities, for example. Use these shared times to explore your relationship and your expectations of each other. As Neil Chethik mentions in his book, Father Loss, take the time to share the words you always wanted to hear: "I love you, I appreciate you and I admire the life you're leading..."

10 Most Prevalent Obstacles To Family Business Succession Planning

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:08 GMT

In a presentation at the University of St. Thomas Center for Family Enterprise Family Business Forum, John Davis, family business consultant, researcher and educator, commented that everything consultants like himself teach, their clients already know. In order to be successful, they need to confront or deal with the obstacles. Of course, the first question that popped into my mind was: What are those issues? As I looked back over my practice, I began to identify some common obstacles. But, before I name these obstacles for discussion, I will describe the context in which I work with my clients.

The basic goal in my work with family business clients around their issues is to help the B.O.S.S. be successful. At the orientation meeting when I introduce this concept, which comes from the book Collaborative Team Skills (Miller & Miller, 1994), all heads turn toward the father. I announce to the father that he has just been demoted, and that the real boss around here is the four constituencies that make up the acronym. The B stands for the Business and what the business needs to be successful. The O, which is the most important part of the B.O.S.S., stands for the Other. What do you want for the Other and what does the Other want? In the context of succession planning, each member of the family has to know that the others are committed to help each other be successful - it's a bilateral, mutual process. I use the Common Family Vision to assist in this area. The first S is what do I want for my Self? This is the one area about which people are generally most concerned - themselves. To be successful, clients need to understand the systemic nature of family-owned businesses and that, for personal goals to be achieved (the S), they must create a win-win success for all four constituencies. The final S stands for the Stakeholders, which generally includes the whole family, the employees, the customers, the vendors and anyone else who is connected with the family business. I begin my work with clients by helping them realize that they have to help the B.O.S.S. be successful so they can successfully navigate the obstacles and deal with their issues.

The following ten obstacles are derived from my observations of client situations that became stumbling blocks and obstructed their ability to move from their current state to successfully navigate the succession planning process. I will begin with obstacle number ten.

#10: Poor Expression of Feelings and Wants

The 10th obstacle is poor expression of feelings and wants. In most family-owned business situations, the lack of expression of feelings and wants exists. This omission is one of the major predictors of poor and ineffective communication. In order to communicate effectively, people need to be vulnerable, and that is the issue. In many family businesses, the family does not have the capability, experience, and confidence to be able to express their feelings and wants around the other daunting obstacles that follow. In some instances, their experience has been so frustrating and unproductive that they give up and are no longer willing to take the risk of vulnerability. As a result, the stumbling block occurs.

Also, in our culture, and in many families, we are taught not to express our feelings and our wants. In regard to wants, I tell clients in my seminar presentations that I was taught not to express my wants. I remember, as a small boy, that when we would visit relatives I would tell people I wanted a piece of candy from the dish on the coffee table. I was immediately told that it was more polite to wait until it was offered. I waited and waited and waited, but no one offered it to me. Then I got married, and I waited and waited. I thought, "If she loved me, she would know what I want." Since she wasn't giving it to me, the fight would be on.

That is exactly what happens in family-owned businesses where family members have expectations of each other about what they want in an emotional sense. They are reluctant to express it and no one offers it, so they think they're not worthy.

The solution I use with my clients is to engage them in a communication training process that allows them to become more familiar with and confident about being able to express their feelings and wants. The Collaborative Team Skills workbook (Miller & Miller, 1994) is an excellent resource for clients. They are able to learn in a relatively short period of time the necessary skills to transcend this obstacle.

#9: Differences Are Seen As A Liability Rather Than An Asset

When differences are seen as a liability rather than an asset, it is always a problem in family-owned business succession planning. Differences are really the key to an exciting and active life. Often in family-owned businesses, differences are interpreted as "you don't love me" and "you don't care." In other instances, differences are personalized with the same kind of result.

Another example of this dynamic is the famous "Hubler's Speck of Dust Theory." When I mention it to seminar groups or clients, they are always puzzled or unfamiliar with the theory, so I am forced to explain it.

Family members often think in regard to small business differences - I don't think I want to bring that issue up with my family members. We plan on getting together as a family for Memorial Day, and if I bring that issue up, it will upset our family. I want to maintain family harmony, so I'm going to let it pass.

The same thing occurs on the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and on and on. As a result of wanting to maintain family harmony in the context of family-owned businesses, family members often inadvertently create the very problem they are trying to avoid by not discussing their business differences.

I use the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory as a resource tool to help people understand and objectify the notion of differences. I find that it helps me teach people in a positive way about their differences and how they can use the synergy among their differences to create a third or fourth way of doing things they otherwise would not have considered.

#8: Indirect Communication

One of the most insidious problems in family-owned businesses is the use of indirect communication. When differences occur, as they often do in succession planning, it is almost always a problem if people do not talk with each other directly. Family members involved in the business often talk indirectly with other family members who are not involved. This creates a triangle that destroys the quality of family relationships. Again, I use the Collaborative Team Skills workbook, especially the chapter on "Styles of Communication," as a resource to educate clients about the pitfalls of indirect communication and to assist them in using direct communication for a win-win result.

#7: Entitlement

Often entitlement is seen as a younger generation issue. Certainly that is true when younger generation people use their name as a wedge or variance to achieve advantage over other people in the organization. When this occurs, it has a negative effect on morale. In a recent client situation, a 30-year old second-generation member of a family-owned business, was about to embark on a self-destructive course to take over the sales department of his father's organization. He had been encouraged by outside professionals. Luckily, the son was able to do some career planning with our industrial psychologist. By having a discussion about expectations for his position and role with his supervisor and the director of sales, the son created a career plan and was able to realize the inappropriateness of his unrealistic expectations. As a result, the son was able to create a realistic career plan that met his goals, the needs of the non-family managers, and his father's ambitions for his son's success.

Senior generation members of family-owned businesses often have this same issue of entitlement. Being the founder of the company and/or being in the senior generation, gives some a sense of entitlement that allows them to think they should continue to take on the primary responsibility of leadership. This is often at the expense of their younger generation adult children, who sometimes are in their 40s and 50s, still waiting for an opportunity to lead the company.

Clearly, the solution here is to work together to talk about the best interests of the B.O.S.S. and how we can continue to help the B.O.S.S. be successful. When family business constituents have a common family vision, it alleviates this issue of entitlement and makes it much easier to create succession strategies and solutions that are win-win.

#6: Scarcity

One of the most difficult issues in the context of family business succession planning is the issue of scarcity. What makes it so insidious is the fact that it is invisible because of the underlying assumption of the family that "there isn’t enough to go around." It often manifests itself in the discussion of money, roles and power. In a family-owned business, there are two bottom lines. The first is the standard financial one, and the second is the more invisible, emotional one. It is the lack of expression of appreciation, recognition and love that is the underlying problem with emotional scarcity.

There are two things I have found that help with the issue of scarcity. The first is having family members talk directly about what they expect from each other. This relates to the number one issue, which I will address later in this article. The second has to do with assisting clients to empower themselves to achieve their fullest potential - whether it is inside or outside the family business. In doing so, they begin to understand the sense of abundance that exists in the world for all of us. A resource I have found to be particularly helpful to clients over the last eight years is the Empowerment Workshop offered by Gayle Straub and David Gershon. Clients who have participated in this come away with a sense of abundance that allows them not only to be fulfilled but also to talk more directly about their emotional expectations from their families.

#5: History

History is a big factor in all families, and it is certainly true in the context of family-owned businesses. A book on families entitled The Way We Never Were (Coontz, 1993) captures the essence of the concern about history. Though family history generally includes difficulties, we go out of our way to talk only about the good things. We mistakenly try to protect our children from our experiences in our own families of origin. Overlooking history is a major factor in family-owned businesses that are having a hard time creating their future. Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, has been quoted as saying, "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards." Therefore, the full celebration of history is essential for continued family business success.

In terms of my experience with clients, not only do they not celebrate their histories, they often take the positive aspects of their histories for granted and do not celebrate those either.

The title of the book, Full Catastrophe Living (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), captures the essence of the full celebration of family history. The title comes from Zorba the Greek. Kabat-Zinn highlights the pain and stress reduction program at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester. In the story, Zorba is a roustabout who is hired by a mine owner to run his mine in Crete. Zorba was hired on the dock prior to sailing, so the two men are getting to know each other on the trip to Crete. The mine owner says to Zorba, "Tell me, Zorba, are you married?" Zorba responds, "Am I not a man? I have a wife, the kids, the house, the full catastrophe." If you remember the story, Zorba was the type of person who danced and celebrated all that life had to offer and actually embraced it. As family-owned businesses are able to celebrate and embrace all that life has to offer, they open the door to the future.

#4: Other-Oriented Regarding Change

. Change is one of the most difficult aspects of life for all of us. My experience has been, that even when it is positive, it is difficult. In the context of family-owned businesses, it is not unusual when people expect others to change in order for something good to occur. But this expectation is a formula for disaster.
At a seminar for a trade association, I was presenting the classic family business model of family and business overlapping circles, which I consider to be one of the major problems and challenges in a family-owned business. A young man stood up and said, "The circles you are presenting are equal in size. If my dad were drawing these circles, his business circle would be very big, and his family circle would be very small. On the other hand, if my wife were drawing those circles, her family circle would be very big, and her business circle would be very small. So the next time you do the presentation, you may want to mention that." As he was about to sit down, another participant asked, "What do your circles look like?" The young man said, "I’d rather not say." Basically he was caught in the middle between two people he loved. Just two weeks prior to the seminar, the father had called me and said, "I’m in a manufacturing business with my two sons. My oldest son is an engineer, and he's my successor. He's been absolutely terrific up until two years ago when he got married. My daughter-in-law is the problem. Can you come and fix her?"

Whenever I tell that story at seminars, the participants always laugh. It is quite an amusing story, but I believe it demonstrates the issue of Other - Oriented regarding change. The overlap of circles, which is an organizational problem in the context of family-owned businesses, is experienced by family business participants as an inter-personal issue. As a result, they often blame each other and expect the other to change.

The solution is self-responsibility - taking responsibility for what we successfully contribute to the family business and also taking full responsibility for our contribution to the problem. One of the major challenges in succession planning and family-owned businesses is helping clients take full responsibility.

#3: Control

Control is a major issue in the context of succession planning in family-owned businesses. The issue of control, which is the very thing that makes owner-entrepreneurs successful, is also their Achilles' heel. At seminars I often cite Curt Carlson, Minnesota's most famous and successful entrepreneur, as an example of this. His struggle with the issue of control and the number of different people he has had in his organization as potential successors has been chronicled in the media very effectively. It has only been within the last few years, when Carlson Companies celebrated its 60th anniversary, that he has been able to deal successfully with that issue of control. The reality is that it is not only the entrepreneurs but also the family as a whole who have to deal with the issue. It is about change. As I mentioned earlier, change is difficult even when it is positive. It is a major, major issue for an entrepreneur who has spent the majority of their his or her life closely involved with the family business.

In preparation for a recent presentation on aging and entrepreneurs, I began to realize that almost all of my clients were senior citizens. In thinking through the presentation, I began to realize how treacherous the succession planning process is, insofar as it causes entrepreneurs to think that people are trying to change them and take away their companies. Subsequently, I have been able to realize and work with entrepreneurs to help them develop a new dream. Entrepreneurs are driven by their dreams. Since it is not possible to change or control entrepreneurs, it does not make sense to continue to fight that battle. On the other hand, it is possible and realistic to assist entrepreneurs and their families in developing new dreams in relation to their family, their business, their communities, their leisure time and philanthropy as a way to effectively deal with the issue of control.

#2: Lack of Forgiveness

. In the family businesses I have worked with in the last 18 years where there has been a breakdown in family relationships, lack of forgiveness is right at the top of the list of those things that get in the way. It is impossible to go through life and be involved in a family business without inadvertently stepping on each other's toes. I have observed that those families that don't have the capacity to forgive each other for their transgressions clearly have a hard time being in business together. In order to bridge this gap successfully, I have generally used and drawn upon my client's religious background, since most religions have a philosophy of forgiveness that is often helpful. I also suggest that clients read A Little Book of Forgiveness (Miller, 1994). It helps clients change their perspective about forgiving each other, and sometimes even themselves.

#1: Lack of Appreciation and Recognition

Based on my experience with family-owned businesses, the number one obstacle is lack of appreciation, recognition and love. When I read in the press about family business catastrophes, as well as review in my mind where my own clients' breakdowns occur, lack of appreciation is often at the root. The senior generation desperately wants this from their adult children, but they will deny to their dying day the fact that they want it and need it. At the same time, I have had clients who say, "What I really want is a little love around here." Another story I tell at seminars is about Bud Grant, an icon in Minnesota and a former coach of the Minnesota Vikings. At his acceptance speech into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, he expressed appreciation for his success to everyone he could think of. He stood there, rather uncharacteristically, in a pastel sport coat with large sunglasses on. He indicated that if his dad were there at the ceremony he would have said, "You done good, kid!" At this point, he began to choke up with tears. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that he was expressing such emotion on this wonderful occasion, but the fact is that an almost-70-year-old man was still looking for appreciation and recognition from his father, who I assume was long deceased.

It is the same issue for the younger generation adult children. They are still looking to be recognized by their parents for their accomplishments and uniqueness. The lack of feeling recognized and appreciated underlies many of the problems in family-owned businesses.

Joseph Jaworski, in his book Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership (1996), mentions his own experiences with his famous father Leon, who was a prosecuting attorney for both the Watergate Trial as well as the Nuremberg Trials. As a result of his father's army experience, he refers to him endearingly as "the Colonel." One day he was journeling and realized that he had some animosity toward his father. He went to his father at their ranch and said:

"'Colonel, I don't think you've ever told me you love me. I believe you do love me, but why haven't you told me so?' He just kept quiet. He didn't know what to say. After a while he looked down and said, 'Well, you know I love you.' And I said, 'Well, why can't you tell me?' He said, 'I've always loved you, and you know I have. You know I love you.' I said, 'I don't know it, and it hurts that you never told me so.'" (p. 145)

I believe this interchange pointedly describes the dynamic that often occurs in family-owned businesses. There is an implicit assumption that people are loved, but the fact that it is rarely if ever expressed is often an obstacle.

The solution lies in teaching family members how to talk about their expectations of each other in an emotional sense and to express appreciation, recognition and love. Many families have a hard time doing this, and just take it for granted. From my experience, most families across the board, need to learn that the emotional bottom line in family-owned businesses is just as important, if not more important, than the financial bottom line. Appreciation, recognition and love need to be expressed on a regular basis.

Over the years I have come to realize the importance of planning for success. As a result, it is critically important to incorporate a plan that addresses these obstacles. Addressing them in a proactively and in a positive way can only enhance a family business' opportunity for continued success and prosperity - both financially and emotionally.

References
Coontz, S. (1993). The Way We Never Were. New York: Basic Books.
Jaworski, J. (1996). Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living. New York: Dell Publishing.
Miller, D. P. (1994) A Little Book of Forgiveness. New York: Penguin Books.
Miller, S., & Miller, P.A. (1994). Collaborative Team Skills. Littleton, Colorado: Interpersonal Communication Programs, Inc.
Myers, P., and Myers, K.D. (1977). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Plan Now to Ensure a Successful Transition Later

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Marvin Schwan, founder of Schwan's Foods, died and left the bulk of his estate to church-related organizations, it caused a serious rift among family members. As a result of apparent misunderstandings and a lack of awareness about the estate plan, Marvin's children have sued the trustees. one of which is their uncle, alleging that they have not followed Marvin's wishes. The trustees indicate that they have done exactly what Marvin wanted and are bewildered that his children are filing a lawsuit when they have received a sizable inheritance.

I'm sure Marvin Schwan never thought he was going to have a problem when he completed the initial stages of his ownership/transition plan, But, then again. he probably didn't think he would die so suddenly either - before he had the opportunity to inform family members of his plans.

Marvin Schwan established a successful multibillion dollar business and was an extraordinarily successful owner/entrepreneur, yet at the moment of his death, everything he worked for seems to have fallen apart. What went wrong?

While Schwan's is not a construction company, the dynamics parallel many other family businesses. As a result, there are lessons be learned that may prevent a parallel tragedy from Occurring in your family-owned business.

It's important to understand what makes ownership and management transitions in family-owned businesses so challenging: the overlap between two separate and distinct organizations - the family and the business. let's examine each one.

The Family vs The Business
The family is held together by strong emotional ties. The values that drive the family are protection and loyalty. The family exists primarily to cushion its members from changes occurring in the world at large, and within their family circle. As a result, families tend to be conservative and resist change.

The business is oriented toward the production of goods and services, The values that drive the business are competency and productivity: to be successful, the business must embrace change, Therefore, these two complex systems are in nearly direct opposition. In the illustration to the right. the first model represents a non-family business. In the second illustration, which illustrates a healthy family business, there is a small, well-balanced overlap between family and business concerns. The third figure highlights the most common problem in family-owned businesses: the boundaries between business and family are indistinguishable. As a result, the business is vulnerable to family issues and entanglements; and business differences can erode family relationships.

In a recent. yet unpublished, article submitted for publication in a national journal for family businesses, the number one reason for failure of family
businesses was inadequate ownership planning. Let's briefly look at key strategies and four basic plans that can act as a "North Star" to guide you in navigating these difficult waters.

"...the number one reason
for failure of family businesses
was inadequate ownership planning."

Key Strategy One
The first task is to create an ownership and estate plan for the business - one of the trickiest areas of planning because it involves the transfer of wealth. often complicated by tax planning, as well as the common circumstance of having children both in and out of the family business. There are five priorities in completing this plan:

Will there be another generation of the family in the business?
How will we ensure economic security for the parents?
How will we ensure the equitable treatment of the children?
What steps can we take to minimize estate taxes?
And, how will we communicate this plan to the family?

The most critical element is to determine whether or not there will be another generation entering the business. The family also needs to work with their professional advisors to ensure the economic security of the older generation. No plan is going to be successful unless this issue is addressed. The equitable treatment of the children is an additional consideration. This is very difficult for family businesses because parents love their children equally, but the reality is that they are not always equal. The family needs to sit down and talk about what "equitable" means. This effort provides parents with the assurance that their children understand the plan and it helps minimize future family problems.

The family can collaborate with their accounting firm to implement a financial plan to achieve the family's goals well in advance of any transition, to
implement plans that are the most tax-efficient plans possible. Entrepreneurs often end up paying excessive taxes because they avoided the planning process so long that many planning opportunities are lost.

Key Strategy Two
The second area of planning is to create a management and leadership plan. Selecting a leadership team for the next generation in the business is a difficult task. particularly when parent/child relationships are involved. It is important to work with outside advisors who can assist the owner/entrepreneur in making the right choices.

Given today's increased longevity and health,owner/entrepreneurs often want to continue to make a contribution in the business, just as their adult children who are eager to make their own mark. It is critical that both the younger and the older generation both embark on career planning to create a "win-win" situation for all parties.

I often use the following analogy with clients who are struggling with this issue - that of "serving the B.O.S.S."

The needs of the business
The needs of the other
The needs of the self
The needs of the other stakeholders which includes: the family, the employees, the vendors, and all the people who have a stake in the company.

Key Strategy Three
The third area of planning is to create a formal business plan that addresses how the business will be managed during the transition from an entrepreneurial to a managerial organization that typically occurs between the first and second generation.

Key Strategy Four
Finally. I recommend that a family create a common family vision and develop a family plan for the business. This often becomes the glue that holds the whole plan together and provides the energy for all the other areas of planning. A common family vision unites the family, especially the younger generation, for the future. It is a very powerful tool.

Regular meetings are critical. A recent study found that the number-one reason for success of family businesses was regular family meetings - a hybrid forum where family members address issues related to the family and the business. Family meetings allow family members to come together in a positive way to preserve their family relationships.

Planning Is Crucial
While it is not always easy to predict the future, it is easy to say that if you have a plan, the probability of your success in ownership and management transitions will be much greater. Collaborating with your accountant and other advisors, and communicating regularly with your family will allow you to avoid the common pitfalls that plague family-owned businesses.

I am confident that if Marvin Schwan were alive today, he would do everything in his power to honor the B.0.S.S., Creating a win-win situation for himself, the business, his adult children, and the community he wished to serve in the process.

This article originally appeared in Building Together.

Through Family Philanthropy and Service Wealth Enriches Your Life

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

The family, business and community all benefit from acts of philanthropy and service. Family philanthropy and service allow you to express your values in meaningful and tangible ways. Further, family philanthropy provides a vehicle for your family and business to pay back the community for the many blessings and good will you've received.

DOES YOUR LEGACY INCLUDE FAMILY PHILANTHROPY?

If you want succeeding generations to continue your family values with acts of volunteerism, stewardship, humanity and charity, we can help you lay out your notions into an actionable plan. With our help, many families have created opportunities to use their financial resources as an extension of their values. We can help you find the best ways to express your values and translate them into family philanthropy.

If after years of good fortune you've decided it's time to give something back, we can help with our exclusive Wealth Care Management^sm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

The Successful Family Business is Both a Successful Family and a Successful Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

The leader of a successful family business has to answer two questions that the leader of a publicly held company doesn't have answer:

How can I keep normal business and financial differences from eroding family relationships?
At the same time, how can I keep family issues and family politics out of my business?

If you can't answer those questions, success for your family business is in jeopardy. Fortunately, it's simple to find the answers; they lie in your business's succession plan.

ARRIVING AT A PLAN CLARIFIES ROLES AND REMOVES OBSTACLES.

That's the good news. It's also the challenge. That's because it's not just the plan that assures success for your family business; the process that you and your family follow to arrive at the plan is very important. Successfully guiding families up the boulder-strewn path of succession planning is an acknowledged strength of Hubler for Business Families.

At Hubler for Business Families, we gauge our success on your success. We can help to create and sustain a successful family business with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Heritage is the DNA of Your Family Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Heritage will never show up your family business's balance sheet, but it is one of your richest assets. It is complex, beautiful and completely irreplaceable because it is utterly unique to your family business. Your family history and ancestry, your family values about wealth, your traditions, rituals and stories passed down through the generations all live in the heritage of your family business. But heritage is not merely about the past.

UNWRAPPING THE HERITAGE OF YOUR FAMILY BUSINESS.

Understanding and articulating the heritage of your family business goes a long way toward mapping out your values and vision for the future. It helps identify how you'd like to see those vital traits of your business perpetuated by the generations that follow. Exploring heritage is an important part of the work we do with family businesses. It is one of the enjoyable products of the union of family and business.

You have every right to be proud of the business you and your family have built over the years. We can help you recognize the heritage of your family business with our exclusive Wealth Care Management^sm and Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Where Does Your Family Stand

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Your family values live in your family business. This business legacy contains powerful emotional forces like belief, fear, control and acceptance. Under the stress of change, especially succession, those forces become even more evident-and perhaps conflicting.

FAMILY VALUES RAISE YOUR BUSINESS TO SOMETHING GREATER THAN AN IMPERSONAL PROFIT-DRIVEN ENTERPRISE.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Has my life meant something; have I made a difference?" You begin to learn the answer when you discover that your family values are a part of your family business. Do you feel like you're appreciated for what you do? Again, part of your answer rests in the values you infuse into your business.

How do you preserve and transmit what's working as a business family? We can help.

True success always demands placing a premium on integrity and character. We can help you preserve family values in your family business with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Family Wealth Management

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

An important part of wealth management is often overshadowed by the amalgamation of wills, taxes, trusts and investments that make up the financial side. The often-neglected side of wealth management is its emotional side. The emotional side of wealth management requires managing the impact wealth has on family relationships.

EXPERTS REQUIRED FOR BOTH SIDES OF WEALTH MANAGEMENT.

We can help you with the delicate emotional side of wealth management. With our clients, we help develop family standards and expectations for wealth. We assist them in putting their wealth values into words. Finally, we help family business members gain a common vision of how wealth can be an extension of family values.

Wealth is a difficult subject to broach, especially among the wealthy. Airing the emotional side of wealth management is an important step in helping family members to come to terms with the emotions and responsibilities that accompany wealth.

Making money is always the hardest part. Learning how to manage it is easy. We can help you with wealth management and the family business with our exclusive Wealth Care Management^sm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Attuned to the Importance of Wealth Preservation

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Wealth preservation is important for your family-owned business because it impacts both the family and the business. Protecting economic security benefits both the business and personal relationships. For family businesses, particularly those preparing for a transition in management, wealth preservation is a top priority.

If you're in the senior generation in a family-owned business, health concerns, family harmony and economic security are top concerns. Because the business is often your primary asset, wealth preservation is crucial. We can help you achieve it through an ownership transition plan designed to guarantee economic security. Wealth preservation plans take into account the multiple opportunities to save the owner/entrepreneur tax dollars.

HUBLER FOR BUSINESS FAMILIES AND WEALTH PRESERVATION.

We can help you create a transition plan that relieves your concerns. Money is one of the three most difficult topics of discussion. The emotional conflicts money creates for families and family-owned businesses are well documented. Professional financial strategies combined with thoughtful family discussions, can prevent your family relationships from eroding due to money.

WEALTH PRESERVATION AND WEALTH PREPARATION PLANNING: TOOLS FOR PROTECTING ASSETS AND RELATIONSHIPS.

Many family businesses prepare for the future through wealth preservation, a tool consisting of wills, tax preparation, trusts, and investments. Specialists in these areas work in concert with you, your family members and your advisors to successfully protect your assets.

Just as important as wealth preservation is Wealth Preparation Planning. Its purpose is to prepare family members for the responsibility and emotional impact of wealth.

A two-part process, Wealth Preparation Planning begins with an examination of family heritage.

History and ancestry
Visions and values
Family stories, traditions and wealth values.

The second part of Wealth Preparation Planning explores and identifies:

Values
Self loving
Caring
Life meaning
Generativity
Fulfillment
Sense of purpose

INTRODUCING WEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT^sm

Wealth Care Management^sm is our proprietary approach to joining the financial considerations of Wealth Preservation Planning with the emotional considerations of Wealth Preparation Planning. Wealth Care Management is the greatest assurance that can be taken for preserving wealth through succeeding generations.

You've worked too hard to let the family fortune slip through your fingers. We can help you with wealth preservation for today and generations to come with our exclusive Wealth Care Management^sm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

The Richness of Your Family Legacy Articulated and Preserved

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:07 GMT

Your legacy weaves together the spectrum of values, emotions, relationships, and personalities found in a family with the ambitions, struggles and successes of business. Have you ever looked at your unique tapestry? To articulate your family legacy is to provide unique guidance for succeeding generations.

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH WHAT YOUR FAMILY BUSINESS IS ALL ABOUT.

Tom Hubler talks about Family Legacy

Understanding your family legacy goes a long way toward explaining what makes your family business tick. Your positive family values become a part of the corporate culture of your family business. At the same time, the competencies and savvy that come with operating a successful business make a positive impact on the family.

What are your family values? We can help with this critical step. By voicing your family legacy, you are providing the formula for success to those who follow you.

Our primary mission is to help families tear down the barriers that stand between them and running a successful business. We can help build your family legacy with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm and Wealth Care Management^sm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.

Fine Tuning Your Legacy

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:49:06 GMT

What, really, is "legacy?" How does one "fine tune" it?

Laura Nash, in her Harvard Business Review article, "Success That Lasts," defined legacy as "a way to establish your values or accomplishments so as to help others find future success." Nash observes that we should not wait until we are 65 years old to start thinking about legacy; we should distribute our emotional and physical resources (including happiness achievement and significance, as well as legacy) throughout life.

A recent Allianz American Legacies Study noted that baby boomers and their children agree that non-financial items - family stories, family heritage, family values and religion - are ten times more important than the financial aspects of inheritance. Yet, the study revealed that less than a third of baby boomers and their adult children are having in-depth, meaningful discussions about legacy and inheritance.

I would suggest that legacy is both financial and non-financial. I have come to look at legacy as your gift to the future to help others find their own success. This legacy model contains five interrelated aspects:

Wealth Care - money and property
Business Legacy - succession plan
Heritage - history and ancestry
Family/Self - loving and caring
Community - services and philanthropy.

Fine-tuning a legacy requires implementing all five aspects of the model.
For this article of The Last Challenge series, I want to emphasize how important it is to capture stories that relate to family and history, and to consciously voice life and family values.

One example of this is a client that that always includes an agenda item in the annual meeting where the grandparents make a presentation to the whole family (including grandchildren) about some aspect of their early lives. Pictures and videos usually accompany the stories. Grandkids are on the edge of their seats, learning about grandpa and grandma's lives. Today's technology makes it relative easy to capture these wonderful stories that highlight family values and life experiences. The presentations are videotaped and a disc is made for each family member. This is a priceless gift to the future.

Another example is to create an ethical will. This old, Jewish tradition has senior generation family members share the critical values they want to pass on. Topics for an ethical will can include:

Success as I see it
Mistakes I learned from
My happiest hours
Why I love you
What spirituality means to me
Stories with deep personal meaning
People or events that have shaped my life
Familial obligation
Favorite scripture passages
Actions for which I would like to ask forgiveness

Select any or all from the list to share at future family meetings. Families enjoy wonderful, positive feelings when parents share their stories; stories nurture bonding and often produce a few tears and smiles when people come so closely together.

I know of truly ambitious individuals who have written their life stories. You can record your story in book form or create a video to share with the entire family. Many resources are available to help you capture these family memories. If you would like a referral just email me.

Over the years, I have created two videos about my life and have shared them with my family. The first one is about my work; the second is about values and stories from my past.

One of my greatest thrills in giving to the future was introducing my grandchildren to the arts. We frequently attend the Children's Theater and Minnesota Orchestra.

Another part of my legacy is helping to provide for a good education. I enroll each of my grandchildren in a book club on their first Christmas. Learning has always been a big part of my life and I want to make sure my grandkids learn to enjoy reading.

These examples emphasize the non-financial aspects of inheritance that, according to the Allianz Study, are the most important. As you fine tune your legacy take time to engage your family. Share some of the stories and meaningful events of your life. Share with them the events and people who have shaped your life. This could be your greatest - and most appreciated - gift to the future success of your family.

We can help fine tune your legacy with our exclusive Vision for Success^tm and Wealth Care Management^sm. Contact us today by Email, call us at 612.375.0640, or fill out our contact form.



Name: *
Company: *
Address: *
Home:	Business:
City: *
State: *
Zip: *
Country:
Phone: *
Email: *
Comments:

: Please send me the following FREE information:
I would like to attend the Free Orientation Meeting
Please send me an Information Packet
I would like a copy of Tom's appearances on The Today Show
I would like a copy of Tom's DVD Succeeding at Succession
I would like an audio cassette tape of Tom's call-in interview on Minnesota Public Radio
Please send me a trade association's presentation outline for:
Family Unity: The Power Magic Mystery of a Common Vision
Succeeding at Succession: Your Business and the Next Generation
What Makes Family Businesses Work

hubler

Survey Test

Email Submit Success

Assessment

Submit Success

Site Map

Contact

Home

test

test

Tom Hubler Interview with Southwest Initiative Foundation

Video - Legacy & the Last Challenge of Entrepreneurship

October Proclaimed Family Business Awareness Month

On The Air - The Peter McClellan Show

Published Articles

Tom Hubler DVD

Specialists

Resources

CONSIDER TOM'S INSIGHTS, TALK TO A SPECIALIST.

2011 MN Family Business Award Honorees

Educational Symposium Crafting a Successful Entrepreneurial Legacy

2011 MN Family Business Awards Ceremony

Recognizing the Best in Minnesota Family Businesses

2011 MN Family Business Awards Nominations

Images of 2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards

2010 Minnesota Family Business Award Winners

Congratulations to the following 2010 Minnesota Family Business Award Winners!

2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards Finalists

Minnesota Family Business Seminars

Leveraging Family in your Business

"Can't We All Just Get Along?"

Family Business: Managing To Multiple Bottom Lines

Unraveling Family and Business So You Can Succeed at Both!

2010 Minnesota Family Business Awards

Learn More

Family Renewal Retreat

Vision For Success

VISION FOR SUCCESS™, IN MORE DETAIL.

Wealth Care Management

Seminars

Spirited Leadership

Estate Planning

Asset Protection

Leadership Programs

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

INDIVIDUAL COACHING FOR EFFECTIVENESS

TEAM BUILDING

Services

OUR FAMILY BUSINESS SERVICES:

Danz Family

FATHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

KYTHING

Lincoln-Smith Family

NORMA SMITH - INDIVIDUAL VISION

LINCOLN-SMITH FAMILY KYTHING

Berber Family

FATHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

BERBER FAMILY KYTHING

Hanson Family

FATHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

FAMILY KYTHING

Kelly Family

JOAN'S INDIVIDUAL VISION (MOTHER)

Humphrey Family

TONY'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

KYTHING

Harding Family

OLDEST BROTHER'S INDIVIDUAL VISION

KYTHING

Miller Family

Father's Individual Vision

Kything

Case Studies

A CONSTANT IN OUR FAMILY BUSINESS CASE STUDIES: COMMON VISION.

Bob Gazich

Duchie Van Hoven

Tom Hubler

RESPECTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND INSIGHT.

About Us

...the forgiveness ritual is used
as a spiritual spark plug
to ignite the family's compassion
and spiritual traditions.