Friday, December 24, 2010

Season's Greeting











From My Family To Yours,

May God bless you and

your family this season with Peace, Joy, Hope,

and Happiness.

Best Wishes for a

Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Steve Moyer





Saturday, December 18, 2010

Tis The Season


Tis The Season:

For some families that is a dreaded phrase and for other families that brings warm memories of family gatherings. At a time of year when activities tend to outpace the number of hours in a day and the days keep running together, it is important to keep in mind that it is our families that make the season.

In this time of busy-ness, remember to take time for family.

May this season be one of peace, joy, and happiness as you intentionally seek family time.

From my family to yours,

Enjoy the blessings God has bestowed and may your family experience a prosperous 2011.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Help In Beginning To Understand Generational Differences

In today’s on-line educational seminar with The Network of Family Businesses, Dr. Terry Cahill, (Associate Professor for the PhD Health Sciences program at Seton Hall) began to help the membership recognize the differences between the generations in the family business.

Defining who is currently in the workplace as the Traditionalists, the Boomers, Gen X, and the Millenials, Terry explained the issues that have influenced the personality and values unique to each generation. The influences of events for each generation began to clarify the why and how each generation may act or respond or think. In a clearly defined grid we were able to gain wonderful insight for business families as they consider the differences of the generations when planning succession and transition for the business.

Below is a sample of the grid Terry developed to differentiate potential clash points.

Traditionalist

Baby Boomers

Generation X

Millenials


Career Goals

Building a legacy

Building a stellar career

Building a portable career

Building parallel careers

Reward System

Satisfaction of a job well done

Money, title, recognition, corner office

Freedom is the ultimate reward

Work that has meaning for me

Defining Balance

Support me in shifting form a life of work to retirement

Help me balance everyone else and find meaning myself

Give me balance now, not when I am sixty-five

Work isn’t everything, I need flexibility so I can balance all my activities

Feedback

No news is good news

Once a year, with lots of documentation

So, how am I doing?

…at the push of a button

Training

I learned it the hard way; you can too

Train’em too much and they’ll leave

The more they learn, the more they stay

Continuous learning is a way of life

I was excited with this insightful perspective presented by Terry and developed a few key take-aways:

1. Continue to work at understanding these generational differences and recognize into which group (s) your family members are – BUT don’t become frustrated with them - capitalize and celebrate the different viewpoints – the strength, depth, and expertise of each group – (our businesses may also be able to use the different generations of our families to help market the business).

2. As families in business implement processes for succession planning – recognize what could potentially be clash points but turn that information into opportunities to strengthen the family.

3. As business grows and families need to recruit (both family and non-family) recognize who and for what we are recruiting – be flexible in meeting the needs and expectations of each individual.

This seminar can be viewed in the archives of The Network of Family Businesses at www.netfamilybusiness.com

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Understanding Generational Differences in Family Businesses - Recognizing Clash Points That May Impact Leadership Succession

The Network of Family Businesses has scheduled an on-line educational seminar with Terry Cahill, EdD, FACHE on Understanding Generational Differences In Family Businesses for Tuesday, December 14th at 11:00 AM EST.

In a White Paper found at www.netfamilybusiness.com Cahill begins to explore clash points between three, four and sometimes five generations working together in the workplace. In the context of family businesses these differences have much more far reaching importance in respect to the critical task of leadership succession according to Cahill.

Terry specializes in management consulting, executive coaching, leadership/organizational development and strategy services. As acting Chair and Associate Professor for the PhD in the Health Sciences program at Seton Hall University, Terry teaches Leadership and Research.

Registration for the On-Line Educational Seminar is available at www.netfamilybusiness.com