Why We Wrote Our Book: The Importance of Building an Owner’s Mindset in Family Enterprises

Why We Wrote Our Book: The Importance of Building an Owner’s Mindset in Family Enterprises

By Wendy Sage-Hayward, Gaia Marchisio and Barb Dartt

Our book,“OWN IT! Building an Owner’s Mindset at Every Age,” aims to shed light on the importance of intentionally developing an owner’s mindset within family enterprises. Through our own experiences and work with business families, we have developed key principles that can guide this journey at different stages of life. Our goal is to advance the claim that ownership is a critical role in a family enterprise which needs to be intentionally and strategically developed.

As individuals who have owned, consulted for, and researched family businesses, we understand the complex nature of this path on an emotional, relational, and financial level. Our families suffered from the same affliction that our clients often do—a lack of knowledge and dialogue about ownership. In fact, this is more common than not. This complex and challenging journey is what inspired us to write this book.

Unfortunately, very few enterprising families focus on building an owner’s mindset in their families. They are busy working and growing their enterprises—and rightly so. In addition, too often family enterprises prioritize and value the management role over the ownership role and thus don’t view it as a critical skill. Finally, many rising generation family members do not choose the path of ownership; they are simply born into it. Therefore, it’s not surprising that there is little focus on valuing and building an educated owner to steward the family’s assets for future generations. Yet, the importance of this role is staggering. There is much more at risk than the financial losses that could arise. The loss of the family itself and relationships within is our greatest risk and most devastating losses.

As in other aspects of life, we learn from our mistakes more than our successes. After we witnessed our clients’ successes— and felt their anguishes as well as our own—we concluded that someone needed to define a better journey to ownership. This book is not only born out of our education, dedication to continuous growth, and experience. It also reflects years of working with business families and learning with and from them how to avoid the same mistakes we witnessed and experienced.

Our collaboration in writing this book has been a blessing. We are three individuals with different backgrounds and areas of expertise, but a shared passion for helping families navigate the challenges of owning and managing a family enterprise. Our different perspectives and experiences allowed us to provide a comprehensive view of the topic, covering the emotional, relational, and financial aspects of building an owner’s mindset.

We are excited to share the insights we’ve gained from our evolving experience with family-owned organizations in building an owner’s mindset. Our book provides practical examples of how development happens both formally and informally, and outlines key principles by age and stage of life. We firmly believe that there is no one-size-fits-all model for the path to ownership, but there are guiding lights that can lead families towards a successful and fulfilling journey.

One of the key principles we discuss in the book is the importance of education and dialogue within the family. Many family enterprises struggle with communication and transparency, which can lead to misunderstandings, conflict, and even the breakdown of relationships. By intentionally building a culture of open communication and education about ownership and stewardship, families can create a strong foundation for future generations.

Another important principle we discuss is the need for a balance between the management and ownership roles within the family enterprise. While management is crucial for the day-to-day operations and growth of the business, ownership is equally important for ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of the enterprise. By valuing and developing the ownership role, families can ensure that their assets and legacy will be passed down to future generations.

Ultimately, our book is a reflection of our passion for helping families build strong and successful enterprises that can last for generations. We have seen firsthand the challenges that families face when navigating the complex world of ownership and management, and we believe our book can provide valuable guidance and support for families seeking to build an owner’s mindset.

Writing this book has been an incredible learning journey for the three of us. We have been able to reflect on our own experiences as owners and consultants, and have gained new insights and perspectives from the families we have worked with. We hope that our book will inspire families to prioritize the development of an owner’s mindset, and provide them with the tools and guidance they need to build a strong and successful family enterprise for generations to come.

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Wendy Sage-Hayward has been a family business owner for more than 25 years and is a senior consultant at the Family Business Consulting Group. Gaia Marchisio is a family enterprise researcher, consultant, educator, speaker, and writer with 25-plus years of impact across global family enterprises, academic institutions, corporations, and public-sector organizations. Barbara Dartt is a Principal Consultant for the Family Business Consulting Group. Their new book is Own It! How to Develop a Family Enterprise Owner’s Mindset at Every Age (Palgrave Macmillan, Nov. 16, 2022). Learn more at www.thefbcg.com

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