Entitlement: Epidemic of Our Era

How does entitlement present itself?

What are its causes and consequences?

How do we cure it?

Webster’s describes entitlement as “the belief that one is deserving of certain privileges.” Family Business Wiki says, “Entitlement refers to a sense of being ‘owed’ such benefits as: wealth; employment; and status without having to work to achieve these benefits. Some children who grow up in a successful family business can be inclined to a feeling of entitlement.” Entitlement is more than feeling “owed” or “deserving,” it’s about expectation as well. Indeed, usually the problem isn’t the feeling of entitlement; it is how family members act, and how such actions are perceived by others. The consequences can be dire.

Wanting their children to have all the trappings of the good life, parents help their kids buy homes and even furnish them; they set up trust funds and 529 college savings plans for their grandchildren. And in these actions, there lies an expectation -- that this might go on forever, that there’s a bottomless well

somewhere.

So, have the parents been the enablers? Have they unwittingly fostered the belief in their children that money will always be available? Perhaps so.

Many expected that they’ll be able to take the same luxury vacations with their children as they’ve enjoyed with their parents. For most, however, it just won’t happen. Thanks to the economy, “forever” seems to have come to a screeching halt.

As a result, many kids turn to the Family Business as a natural source of opportunity.

But is that opportunity to further entitlement?

Read the SeptemberWhite Paper and join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Thursday, September 26^th 2013 at 02:00 PM Eastern Time, with Paul and David Karofsky.

Paul Karofsky is founder/CEO of Transition Consulting Group Ltd. He was the third-generation CEO of his family’s business and is executive director emeritus of Northeastern University’s Center

for Family Business. David Karofsky is president of Transition Consulting Group Ltd. He has more than 15 years of experience coaching executives and working with companies across the globe (www.ForTCG.com).

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Marketing & the Family Business

Creating the Ideal Customer Experience

Many marketers have been taught the concept of the marketing funnel. The idea being that you bring leads into the top of the large opening in a funnel and push the ones that become customers through the small end. The problem with this approach is it turns all the focus on the chase. Bill Brelsford happens to think that real payoff in marketing comes from expanding and focusing your thinking on how to turn a lead into an advocate for your business.

When you overlay our definition of marketing – “getting someone who has a need to know, like, and trust you” with the intentional act of turning know, like and trust into try, buy, repeat, and refer you get the entire logical path for moving someone from initial awareness to advocate.

The key is to systematically develop touch points, processes and product/service offerings for each of the 7 phases of the hourglass.

            Know – Your ads, article, and referred leads

            Like – Your web site, reception, and email newsletter

            Trust – Your marketing kit, white papers, and sales presentations

            Try – Webinars, evaluations, and nurturing activities

            Buy - Fulfillment, new customer kit, delivery, and financial arrangements

            Repeat – Post customer survey, cross sell presentations, and quarterly events

            Refer – Results reviews, partner introductions, peer 2 peer webinars, and community building

Far too many businesses attempt to go from “Know” to “Buy” and wonder why it’s so hard. By creating ways to gently move someone to trust, and perhaps even creating low-cost offerings as trials, the ultimate conversion to buy gets so much easier.

Read the AugustWhite Paper and join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Wednesday, August 21^st 2013 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with Bill Brelsford.

Bill Brelsford is the owner of Rebar Business Builders and a Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant. As one of the original members of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network, Bill has been helping business owners and professional service providers install the Duct Tape Marketing System since 2004.

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

So What Is The Plan?

The Mystery or the Value of Exit Planning

ONE OUT OF EVERY TWO BUSINESSES IS FORECASTED TO CHANGE OWNERSHIP IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS!

Experts say that 80% of the companies up for sale, FAIL TO SELL.

Over 90 % of business owners have not developed written exit strategies and 75% don’t have any plans!

Over 75% of business owners, who do sell, are dissatisfied after the sale!

Failure to plan destroys businesses and legacies.

Learn what a good exit planning strategy process looks like and how to get it done, so that owners can get back in control of their life and their future.

During this presentation participants will learn tools to immediately work “on” their business as well as work “in” their business.

Learn the Answers to Critical Presentation Questions:

• Why business owners should Exit Plan now! Why don’t they?

• Solving the Exit Planning Mystery and achieve greater value for your life’s work!

• How do company “value gaps” affect your future and what to do about them?

• The effect of company valuations on your financial planning!

• What a good Exit Planning process looks like! What it accomplishes now and in the future!

• On a scale of 1-100, how prepared are you and your company for your future?

• How do you get started planning the second half of your life?

• When do you get started?

Join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Tuesday, July 25^th 2013 at 02:30 PM Eastern Time, with Peter Christman.

Peter Christman - The “Original Exit and Succession Planning Coach" CEO and Founder of the CHRISTMAN Group, CEO and Co-Founder of the Exit Planning Institute Peter Christman is an experienced entrepreneur, corporate executive, coach and investment banker. After spending 25 years as an investment banker with other firms, Peter founded The CHRISTMAN Group, LLC to provide middle market business owners with a comprehensive and integrated suite of services that simplify the exit planning process while maximizing the value of the client’s business. The Christman Group mantra is that we want our clients to be “SET" for life. During his 30+year career Peter has successfully sold more than 200 companies in a wide variety of industries. Transactions have ranged in size from several million dollars to over one hundred million dollars. Peter is also the co-founder of the Exit Planning Institute that educates business advisors on how to implement business owner “exit planning" into their practices. The Institute has developed its own proprietary certification program. Peter has written articles on the importance of the exit planning process. He is the Co-Author of the book, “The $10 Trillion Opportunity".

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Change is Critical

How rapidly is your world changing?

It has been said in the past, that the only thing constant in today’s world is change.  

Change is inevitable.

Yet, how many of us really like, or are capable of managing the change?

What is the reaction or process or thought when we are confronted by change? In many situations change is initially denied, ignored, resisted or ‘kicked down the road’. This is when the leader must be astute and help the family and the business understand why the change is critical, how the change will impact them, the value of the change for the future and how each individual can support the change.

Change is critical for survival and growth of any system, especially families and business families. Change cannot be seen as self-serving and negotiated behind closed doors.

How are you communicating change?
How transparent is the change you are leading?

Change requires casting the Vision for a better future to guild the legacy for the business family.

What change is your family business facing?

Let us know      

Language, Influence, and Performance

Every single one of us are in the business of moving others.  At work, we aim to move our team members to action, move our customers to extend trust and confidence in us, move our suppliers to deliver consistently.  The list goes on and on and it doesn’t stop when we get home.  We’re selling our children on the benefits of being honest, we want them to take responsibility and make healthy choices. 

Essentially, we are cajooling, convincing, persuading, influencing, twisting arms, and sometimes dragging them kicking and screaming.  Even when we would like five whole minutes of peace and quiet to drink our coffee and read the latest issue of HBR, we still want everyone else in the family to cooperate.

Recognizing that spending your time moving others is critical to your business and life success, Cathy Maday will teach tools that you can use to better influence and generate greater performance for your entire team, including yourself

Read June’s White Paper, Language, Influence, and Performance and the Participant’s Guide and join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Tuesday, June 18^th 2013 at 11:00 AM EST, with Cathy Maday.

Cathy Maday, Founder, Wingspan Performance provides motivated business leaders with tools to achieve higher levels of individual, team and business performance. Their proven coaching, training, and leadership development solutions deliver real-world strategies and practical hacks for greater profit in business and life. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Wingspan Performance has served entrepreneurs, large corporations and the Energy and Utility industry for nine years.

Their value proposition is simple, to provide the highest quality professional services while developing long lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with clients.  They accomplish this by integrating their seasoned, values-based and client-focused professionals directly with client leaders and teams, ensuring a win-win alliance as well as tangible results.  The vast majority of their clients have engaged Wingspan Perform to provide a variety of professional services continuously for several years. 

Registration to join The Network of Family Businesses and be eligible for the On-Line Educational Seminar is available at: http://www.netfamilybusiness.com

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Leaders and Entrepreneurs

The Guru and Father of management, Peter Drucker defined eight characteristics for effectiveness:

         - Asking “what needs to be done?”

         - Asking “what is best for this organization?”

         - Develop Action Plans

         - Take responsibility for actions and decisions

         - Take responsibility for communicating to all stakeholders

         - Focus on opportunities rather than problems

         - Run productive meetings

         - Think and act in the “WE” rather than the “I”

How are you doing on this scale of effectiveness?

Elegantly Delivering Your Family & Business Story with Video

Legacy Videos of Family Businesses Can Touch Future Audiences

Join world-renowned videographers and storytellers Pam Pacelli Cooper and Rob Cooper of Verissima Productions for a webinar to understand what you need to know in order to create a video legacy for your family business.

For over ten years Pam and Rob have been documenting significant historical events, promoting the goals of organizations and companies, and preserving the stories of individuals, beloved places, families and family businesses…creating a correspondence with the future.

Whether you want to tell the story of a person, a family member or your family business, before you "cross the street" to start creating your project:

Stop to determine your audience and your goals for them.

Look to identify the right locations and scenes.

Listen to make sure all fully grasp, not only the content of the story, but the nuance, details and context that will give it life and meaning.

Read May’s White Paper, A Life Flashing BeforeYour Eyes and join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Wednesday, May 22^nd  2013 at 11:00 AM EST, with Pam and Rob.

Pam Pacelli Cooper, President, has thirty years experience as a family therapist and oral historian. Growing up with elders born between 1869 and 1925, she learned the power of stories to teach, sustain, and inform the future. Her life and work experience have combined to make her an avid researcher and highly skilled interviewer and storyteller.

Rob Cooper, Creative Director, has thirty years experience as a
 writer / producer / videographer / editor – for PBS and major market television stations, historical documentaries, and corporate communications. He has developed the production skills and professional resources to ensure that your story will be told with elegance.

Registration to join The Network of Family Businesses and be eligible for the On-Line Educational Seminar is available at: http://www.netfamilybusiness.com

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Developing the NXT Generation for the Family Business

The Baby Boomers are retiring, or some want to retire.

Who will fill their shoes to continue building the Family Legacy?

Leadership Development, to avoid the Peter Principle (being promoted beyond the level of competence), is the critical work for Family Business Leaders. To pass the ultimate test of preparing the NXT Generation requires work, planning, work, and planning.

There is not necessarily a “one size fits all” development plan for the NXT Generation. It is important to create both Formal and Informal learning opportunities. Creating Individual Development Plans (IDP) requires a deep understanding of the learning style and needs of that NXT Gen family member. Access to a qualified, competent Coach and Mentor fills developmental gaps that cannot be addressed in an IDP.

Support the NXT Gen as they create and build and nurture their own networks, but also don’t forget to introduce them to the Senior Gen’s network that are critical the Family and the Business.

Spend time to talk with the NXT Gen, debrief them on what is being learned and how that is being applied as they begin the ascent to lead.

Prepare the NXT Gen.

Let me know how you are Developing the NXT Generation in your Family Business.

Using EmployEE Benefits for Business (EmployER) Succession

Join us for a discussion to learn how the Next Generation can afford to buy the Family Business.

Most closely-held, family-owned, private businesses employ the owner(s).

Dollars that the business allocates to an owner are not very tax efficient or cost effective. They are not deductible and the value associated with them is included in the owner's taxable estate.

The same dollars allocated to selected key employee(s) are either tax deductible or estate tax free.

Herb will define and explain a process that shows conventional wisdom of the seller “bonusing” the necessary funds to the buyer may actually be a tax Inefficient way of doing it..

Read Herb’s White Paper and join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Thursday, April 25^th, 2013 at 11:00 AM EST, with Herb.

Herbert K. Daroff, J.D., CFP(R) Herb is an attorney by education and very proud to be a financial advisor by profession. He heads up Estate and Business Planning for Baystate Financial Services in Boston where he provides custom case design and is also available on a consultation basis. He has been actively involved in the financial services industry since 1973. Herb is on the faculty at Bentley University in Waltham, MA.

Mr. Daroff graduated from Drexel University with a B.S. in Commerce and Engineering in 1975, and Temple University - School of Law with a J.D. in 1979.

Herb is very active in volunteer efforts in his community and the financial services industry. He is Past President of the Greater Boston Chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP, now the Financial Planning Association, FPA) and served as a member of the national IAFP Ethics Committee. Herb’s creativity, experience, and resourcefulness enable him to work very well with clients and their professional advisory team in order to implement responsive solutions for financial objectives.

Registration to join The Network of Family Businesses and be eligible for the On-Line Educational Seminar is available at: http://www.netfamilybusiness.com

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Family 4 Generations

            I recently read an article that described the recent phenomenon that many businesses now employ as many as four different generations in their company. 

            These include:

     1.     Traditionalist (born between 1925 and 1942)

     2.     Baby Boomers (born between 1943 and 1960)

     3.     Generation Xers (born between 1961 and 1981)

     4.     Millennials (born between 1982 and 2004)

If this phenomenon can be found in businesses in general, it certainly also applies to family businesses.  How exciting for 3 or 4 generations of the same family to be working together to create a family legacy. 

But as with all new situations, there can be upsides and downsides.  Traditionalists may be unable or unwilling to change their methods or ideas, but may still wield significant power in the business.  GenXer’s may refuse to acknowledge ‘proven, tried and true’ methods that have previously served the company so well, bringing in new technology and new strategies.  Millennials are embracing totally new styles of communication and employment.  Baby Boomers may be caught in the middle, trying to embrace change and also acknowledge the facets of the business that have worked so well in the past. 

It’s a challenge for all generations to work to compliment styles and not let our differences tear apart both the family and the family business.

What generational challenges are you experiencing in your family business?

How has those differences impacted your family communications?

Telecommuting – what’s your opinion? By Guest Blogger – Kathy Moyer

Telecommuting has suddenly become a hot topic these past few weeks as Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer announced through a HR Memorandum to her employees that there would be no more telecommuting at Yahoo – period.  Shockwaves reverberated throughout the media and business world, but I’m sure they were mild in comparison to the shockwaves that must have been felt at Yahoo.  Let’s face it – Yahoo is an internet company. 

Shouldn’t they be leaders in telecommuting?  Apparently not.

            Marissa’s memorandum indicated that there is a need for all employees to be under the same roof in order to begin producing more creatively.  Apparently she feels that some of the company’s problems are due to the fact that employees don’t have the opportunity to work together creatively unless they are spending time together. 

Does she have a point?

            I remember working in office settings as a high school teen and young adult.  Our desks were in one big room – no partitions, no cubicles, no hiding from everyone.  Everyone saw how diligently you were working and producing.  Everyone overheard your phone conversations.  It forced you to learn to  focus on your own work and overlook distractions.  But the best part for me was that I could observe and take notes and learn from the others in my office.  They shared their knowledge.  They shared their tips and strategies for dealing with problems, they helped me learn how to deal with people, and they became friends.     

        

            When I moved on to  a new job, I found myself in a cubicle.  It felt good to not always have somebody looking over my shoulder, to not be interrupted by others in nearby proximity, to not feeling like I had days where I was constantly being distracted,  but I soon found the cubicle to be isolating.  It was harder to get to know others in the office.  It was harder to collaborate on projects – we were always looking for an open conference room so that we could discuss/hash out  the project/problem and then be able to lay out the project. 

            In telling you all of this, I am trying to relate my “cubicle” experience to that of telecommuting.  Of course, there are upsides to telecommuting – it’s much greener; you can telecommute from almost anywhere in the world, so your employee pool is infinitely greater; it’s lower overhead for the company in terms of necessary office space; it’s great for employees who need to be on call for children or elderly family members, etc. etc.  The list could go on and on.

            But there are some of the same downsides to telecommuting that I experienced in my little cubicle.  Lack of personal involvement, lack of mentorship, lack of camaraderie, etc. etc.

            So how do I view Ms. Mayer’s edict?  Well – she has chosen a “one size fits all” type of approach that I think will only serve to alienate employees.  Not the outcome she is looking for.  Instead, I think a better, more balanced approach would have been to decide which of the positions really need to be “in office” to generate the creativity/productivity she is looking for, while leaving the other positions open to telecommuting.   

Discernment is a quality of a true leader

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

How does a Business Family make sure the right people are in the right seats?

Bruce Clinton strongly believes one of the least developed assets in most businesses, including Family Businesses, is the people. In this challenging economic climate he states this has become more evident to many business owners who have experienced: flat or lower sales, morale issues and in some cases the loss of top producers. With Family Businesses trimming overhead, maximizing technology, outsourcing non-essential services, and instituting tighter controls, there is one area that Bruce believes has been omitted. That one area that has been omitted by most that will provide businesses with an ultimate competitive advantage…the ability to obtain and retain top producers at all levels of their organization. 

Bruce will define and explain a process to get the right people in the right seat with a high return on investment proactive process.

Read Bruce Clinton’s White Paper and join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Thursday, March 21^st, 2013 at 11:00 AM EST, with Bruce.

Bruce G. Clinton is the founder of BusinessWise, LLC, an executive coaching and consulting firm, which specializes in helping entrepreneurial organizations solve the “people challenges” associated with growth and succession by installing timeless leadership processes to obtain and retain top producing talent at all levels of the organization. He is a co-founder of ASearch, LLC a retained search firm that takes a unique organizational development approach to find key people. Bruce is an expert in organizational leadership, management and development, having spent over thirty years as a consultant in the field. He has run many seminars in management / leadership skill development. He is a noted author and speaker who appeared on numerous national convention programs.

Registration to join The Network of Family Businesses and be eligible for the On-Line Educational Seminar is available at: http://www.netfamilybusiness.com

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com