Every family in business has a story – or, more likely,
many stories. Family stories give context to a family’s culture, historical
perspective to current crises, and insight to influences that helped shaped the
family and the organization. Stories show next generations who the family is:
the family culture, values, work ethic, and faith. Stories invite the next generation to experience a world that
shaped who they are. Stories
connect the listener to the storyteller, to the key players in the story, and to
the history.
For some, getting senior generations to tell
stories is easy. For others, it
takes more intentional effort. Sometimes
stories are told during informal conversations at work or at home. Sometimes creating space for
intentional dialogue can foster family storytelling. Younger generations can provide rich opportunities for
telling family stories by asking leading questions. For example:
Tell
me about the time…
Tell
me how you started in the business…
What
was the most difficult obstacle grandpa faced…
Give
me an example of when…
What
did you do when…
What are the stories you are telling your
children?
Your stories are unique to your family. Sometimes, senior generations think
their stories are obvious. Or
boring. Or not interesting to
younger generations. It’s these
stories, however, that give context and character to a family. It shows them how their families became
who they are and how the business became what it is. It’s these stories that give younger generations an identity
of who they are. It helps younger
generations grasp hold of an identity bigger than themselves.
The family-ness that comes from this shared
identity is also one of a family business’s strongest competitive
advantages. In other words,
sharing stories not only brings understanding and identity to family, it is
also one of the best ways to develop one of your strongest competitive
advantages.
Communicating your family story is part of
building your legacy in teaching and raising up the next generations. Your
children and grandchildren will continue writing the story of your family. Help
your family continue your legacy.
Let me tell you a story.