Article from Family Business Magazine Dec 2013
Traditionally at this time of year, we gather with our loved ones for celebrations steeped in family tradition. But unfortunately, this time of year is also marked by materialism and excess.
Of course, the wealthier the family or the more successful the family's business, the easier it is to engage in heedless overspending. Family members fall into this trap when they don't appreciate their role as stewards of the family assets.
In an article in The Family Business Policies & Procedures Handbook, Edwin A. Hoover and Colette Lombard Hoover explained what stewardship means:
What separates successful wealth- and business-owning families from those who run into problems is their view of what ownership means. These successful business owners don't see themselves as enjoying the privilege of proprietorship of their businesses; they recognize that their family is entrusted with the responsibility of stewardship.
Stewardship-oriented families appreciate their business as a gift -- not one that they deserve or that they're entitled to, but as a family heirloom and legacy that they accept and treasure with respect and gratitude.
In their article, the Hoovers contrasted stewardship with proprietorship by explaining that "Family members who approach ownership primarily from a proprietorship orientation view their business as a possession that they are entitled to exploit and consume.... In some business families, greed and a self-serving attitude masquerade as claims of rightful reward and return on investment."
Earlier this month in a New York Times article, Count Anton-Wolfgang von Faber-Castell, eighth-generation owner of Faber-Castell, the German company known for making pencils and other writing and drawing implements, eloquently described his feelings of stewardship toward his historic family enterprise.
Count Anton told the Times that he originally hadn't planned to go into the family business but joined the company after his father's sudden death because he felt a responsibility to preserve the family legacy. Count Anton -- who, according to the Times "owns all but a small percentage" of his family business -- said:
"I consider what I got from my father as a kind of fiduciary property, which in a way does not belong to me."
In a 2002 article in Family Business Magazine, the Hoovers wrote:
"[W]hether the family money is new or old, all wealthy families struggle with the challenges of linking their descendants with the history, sacrifice and ethic that formed the original basis of the wealth." They advised, "Education and grooming of the next generation to further the stewardship orientation must be an ongoing family commitment."
It's important to remember that consciously or unconsciously, family members' attitudes toward wealth, spending and responsibility get passed down through generations. May your family enjoy connectedness and prosperity for many generations to come.
Traditionally at this time of year, we gather with our loved ones for celebrations steeped in family tradition. But unfortunately, this time of year is also marked by materialism and excess.
Of course, the wealthier the family or the more successful the family's business, the easier it is to engage in heedless overspending. Family members fall into this trap when they don't appreciate their role as stewards of the family assets.
In an article in The Family Business Policies & Procedures Handbook, Edwin A. Hoover and Colette Lombard Hoover explained what stewardship means:
What separates successful wealth- and business-owning families from those who run into problems is their view of what ownership means. These successful business owners don't see themselves as enjoying the privilege of proprietorship of their businesses; they recognize that their family is entrusted with the responsibility of stewardship.
Stewardship-oriented families appreciate their business as a gift -- not one that they deserve or that they're entitled to, but as a family heirloom and legacy that they accept and treasure with respect and gratitude.
In their article, the Hoovers contrasted stewardship with proprietorship by explaining that "Family members who approach ownership primarily from a proprietorship orientation view their business as a possession that they are entitled to exploit and consume.... In some business families, greed and a self-serving attitude masquerade as claims of rightful reward and return on investment."
Earlier this month in a New York Times article, Count Anton-Wolfgang von Faber-Castell, eighth-generation owner of Faber-Castell, the German company known for making pencils and other writing and drawing implements, eloquently described his feelings of stewardship toward his historic family enterprise.
Count Anton told the Times that he originally hadn't planned to go into the family business but joined the company after his father's sudden death because he felt a responsibility to preserve the family legacy. Count Anton -- who, according to the Times "owns all but a small percentage" of his family business -- said:
"I consider what I got from my father as a kind of fiduciary property, which in a way does not belong to me."
In a 2002 article in Family Business Magazine, the Hoovers wrote:
"[W]hether the family money is new or old, all wealthy families struggle with the challenges of linking their descendants with the history, sacrifice and ethic that formed the original basis of the wealth." They advised, "Education and grooming of the next generation to further the stewardship orientation must be an ongoing family commitment."
It's important to remember that consciously or unconsciously, family members' attitudes toward wealth, spending and responsibility get passed down through generations. May your family enjoy connectedness and prosperity for many generations to come.
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