Kristi Daeda: How Family Businesses Secretly Outperform Their Competitors

[0:00]  more and more younger family members who come out of family businesses are coming to the conclusion that working in their family business is actually a really great opportunity. You know that they will um they have not only the opportunity to perhaps uh have uh you know roles and contribute in ways that they may not have gotten in an organization where they're just you know another employee number in a really large or a really large company. um but also that then they get the extra bonus of you know being able to work side by side with their parents or their siblings or their cousins. So the the a lot of younger folks are seeing it as a really attractive career path in ways that um maybe 10 years ago, you know,

[0:48]  the again if you think about what we're told about what success looks like and things like that. That idea of going to work for the big multinational public company and the cache and so on and so forth that comes with those sorts of jobs or starting things up yourself and the scrainess and so on and so forth that comes with that. um the working in the family business I think is becoming more and more attractive and you know as relates to the innovation that's one of those places where when we're trying to build bridges between the founders and the leaders of today and the leaders and contributors of tomorrow um where innovation is a place where where um younger folks can really contribute Welcome back to another episode here on

[1:47]  the Heart and Hustle Podcast. We got Christy and she didn't grow up with a silver spoon. first in her fam to go to college, thought she'd be an engineer, and now she's actually the CEO of one of the most respected family business consult wait consultancies in the world. Wild, right, Christie? How did we get here? You go, you wanted to be an engineer and and now you're a CEO. Like, what's going on? Thank you. Yeah. Um, it's been an interesting journey to be sure. So, a little bit about me as a human being. I grew up outside Detroit uh with my parents and my younger brother and I think when I was growing up uh close to the auto industry the engineering pathway was a really common uh way for people to go and I was attracted to problem solving and analyzing things and so on and so forth.

[2:30]  It felt like a great fit. Uh and as I went into engineering school I just sort of realized that the kinds of problems I wanted to solve were bigger and the work of of my uh schooling wasn't really calling to me. So ultimately ended up pivoting to study uh business. I managed to meet my husband during undergrad. We got married. We moved to Chicago and uh I live there now. Uh and over the course of my career, I've been involved in a lot of activities around uh solving problems for business. And the stickiest and most interesting kind of problems that I've been attracted to over time are the ways that you uh get people to be effective in business and how those two things interact. So uh in my early career I started working in HR. I did some employee engagement projects uh did

[3:18]  some recruiting uh training those sorts of things. And uh in 2008, I pivoted like many people did and ended up working as an independent consultant, an executive coach. And uh in all of those things, it was all about helping business be more successful in communicating with and engaging with people. Uh and just before uh where I am now, the last uh executive role I had before this firm was with a familyowned business in e-commerce. And that was my first real opportunity working in a family-owned business. And uh if you're interested in the challenges of people and business together, there is no better crucible, no better place to solve those problems than in family-owned businesses. And I really began to understand the the value and the um you know, the specialness of

[4:08]  families who were living their values through their work, through their business, and how those businesses contributed to their employees and their communities. Um, and ultimately that led me to an opportunity to work with the firm I'm at now, uh, where which has been around for 30 years working si uh, solely with family-owned businesses. So, uh, now as a as a person, I'm outside Chicago. I've been the president CEO of the family business consulting group for five years now. And, uh, I have a husband and two teenage kids and two big crazy dogs. And every day is an adventure.

[4:42]  I love it. I love it. You seem so excited to be here. and I'm excited to actually have you and to learn more about what you guys are actually doing um at the you know um organization that you're at. But I really kind of want to go backwards because um you you weren't always in the boardroom, right? You you didn't always in aspire to be here and we always come with a past to wherever we come from, whatever that organization was, whatever that our past life was.

[5:10]  What leadership do you bring five years ago to this organization that has really propelled it to be what it is today? Oh, well that's a that's a fantastic and very kind question. Uh, you know, I think uh I think as I've gone through my career, I've always believed that um no matter what role you have, you have an opportunity to lead. I'm a big believer in leadership from every seat. Um when I'm working on teams, I hope that other people will feel the same way. like we all have control and influence over a certain piece of the business that we touch and we all have an ability to uh contribute positively to the relationships with the people around us to the vision of the company to understanding how we serve our clients better. So I think most I think what I most bring in terms of leadership is um just a sense of ownership of uh all the

[5:59]  things that we can do to be successful as a team and as a company and the ability for every member of the team to play a role in that way. Um I I would say the other thing that feels really important to me is listening. Um, you know, in in my role now, uh, I'm often interacting with families that we serve and other people out in the marketplace, uh, business owners who are looking to solve problems, our team members, colleagues, you know, vendors, all kinds of stakeholders. Um, I think listening is such an incredible leadership uh need to be able to collect information, understand um the people who are involved, how they can best contribute, uh recognize patterns that can help you think about new ways to serve client needs, those sorts of things. And so um

[6:47]  I grew up within the company a little bit. I was here for seven years before stepping into the leadership role. And I think that's uh one of the things that I continually did was sort of, you know, listen, engage with people, understand, and then see how we can apply that to being better as a team. That's funny. I My next question to you was really going to be what after wearing so many hats such as AR, not AR, what the hell am I talking about? HR, communications, and coaching. Um, what was the thread that connected them? But I I really feel is what you said which was listening because in all those right rows you have to really listen to what the problem is to give them a solution whether it was in the HR seat whether you're communicating you're trying to figure out what how to help right and especially in this case um or if it's

[7:35]  coaching you still got to listen to what it is that they're struggling with so I can coach them through it. Do you do you say that's what threads them all together was that listening piece? Yeah I think so and and you use the word solution which I find really interesting. Um because uh I think you know now in a consulting firm solutions are one of those things that you you sell you talk about like what we can do for you but frequently what we're really trying to do is um pull together all the wisdom of all the parties and find the win-wins. So as I think back to like my early my early career um in dealing with people things like in HR and employee engagement I think what I was always trying to figure out is how do I help the employee win and how do I help the organization win or if we are looking to recruit for some for someone what is it the organization wants and what is it

[8:21]  that the individual wants and how do we make that a win-win and so um I think the more wins you can create for the more people and the more you know stakeholders uh the more shared success that you have so for For me, it's always I think it goes back to that problem solving. The listening allows you to understand what people want, what they want out of their careers, what they want out of their engagement with you, um what problem they're trying to solve, and then finding those win-wins and helping them take advantage of those has probably been a a big piece of it, too.

[8:52]  I love it. I want to go ahead and and bust this, myth. I can imagine that you can help us with this. Why do people really sleep on family uh businesses when they literally drive the US economy? Yeah, it's a great question. Um, so family-owned businesses, I mean, a lot of people are surprised to find out that the vast majority of businesses uh in the United States and around the world are familyowned. I think a lot of people think about family business in terms of, you know, the mom and pop own the restaurant around the corner from you and they're the cornerstone of a community, but a lot of people have a sort of a smaller business view of family business or unfortunately in some ways on the other end they have the vision in their head of things like the television show Succession where it's like high drama and wealth and things like that. But in reality, uh, most the

[9:41]  it's between 80 and 90% of businesses in the United States are family-owned. Uh, it includes, uh, manufacturing, agriculture, you know, real estate, all kinds of different kinds of businesses, transportation, it's sort of the heartbeat of the economy. All of the traditional pieces uh, that make our society work and that provide so much employment for our communities is in family-owned businesses. And a lot of people aren't aware of that. If you read the newspapers and watch the, you know, sort of the business commentary on the news, you're going to hear about, you know, your Facebooks and Googles and, you know, big big public companies like who have an outsized sort of share of uh the attention and the marketplace. Um, but but in terms of our overall economy,

[10:28]  they're a smaller portion of our shared success. And so that's part of what we're trying to do as a firm is to talk to more people and help them understand how family businesses help their communities thrive, uh provide great uh uh employment opportunities and really help to drive us forward as a as an economy. What do you think is that one unexpected superpower that these families have that most outsiders probably would never see?

[10:53]  Yeah. Um so it's interesting. There are studies that show that family-owned businesses will outperform their competitors financially. And there's there's I would say there's two primary things that contribute to that. It it really has to do with the family ownership and why the family owns the business. But there's two things that are distinct about families and how they make decisions that I think contribute to that. One is that they are very valuesdriven. So, family-owned businesses are more likely to uh, you know, to give their uh, employees better benefits to really see their employees as part of the family and and include them in the shared success of the company. They're going to make decisions that maybe a public company or you know

[11:41]  where that would be against if you were only making the the decision for short-term financial gain that you would not make because it aligns with who they want to be as business owners and as leaders in their community. And those things tend to create long-term value for the company. We hear about it nowadays when people are talking about, you know, like ESG and and this more holistic view of success, right? That um by investing in things that create long-term success for the world that it creates enterprise value. And family businesses really do that intuitively because they believe so deeply in the things, you know, the values that um created the business and that have guided the business for for so many years. And the other thing that I think family businesses do that is unique is they take a longer term approach to decision- making, something we sometimes

[12:29]  call patient capital. So they're willing to make an investment in something that they're not really going to see the payoff for for 10 years or 20 years uh in ways that other companies would not. And so again, that creates more stability and long-term growth. Um it bu they're very relational in nature. they're going to build stronger, you know, they they have the ability to build stronger client relationships and vendor relationships because they're taking that very long-term view. Um, which may not pay off this quarter, but tends to pay off in the generations to come. Yeah. I actually totally forgot that I used to work for a family-owned business. Oh, really? And they were a um it was a franchise, right? But they owned maybe when I was with them 140 something locations, right? They had a lot of locations, but at some point and what

[13:16]  really sparked it was you said they usually have this mission, this value. I think at some point this small business was no to me no longer a family business. Not a small business, a family business. And I say that because once um dad left the CEO presidency and then put somebody else that wasn't family, I believe it really changed the foundation of what it looked like. And I don't know if it ever went back, but I knew I was already out at that moment because what I what felt like familyowned business and I did feel the love and the care and and how I can talk to, you know, dad, CEO, I can talk to the son, I can talk to it just wasn't like that anymore, you know. Do you see that happen with some of these businesses? Are do you hear some of these same stories a lot of the times? Yeah, that's so interesting. I think that you're hitting on one of the reasons that families work with people

[14:04]  like us is um you know, generational transition. I don't know if I don't know the reason that the family that you were working for made a transition to a new CEO. Um but often, you know, the founder or the second generation or the third generation, whoever's in that seat, um who has been the steward of the culture and the values and the representation for the family name for years and years and years, like they're not going to be there forever. They need to have a plan for the next generation. And for families who want to do that in a way that allows for the business to continue to grow and succeed and to continue to live according to the family's values and what the legacy that they've built through the business over years and years and years. Um, you know, that's that takes some work and it's not as simple as just hiring somebody who's a

[14:51]  great CEO to step into the next role or the next, you know, CFO or whatever that is. It's it's not necessarily just finding a great executive. It's um creating an environment where that person is going to be supported, where the culture is going to continue to live through, that individual and others. It's making sure that everybody that you select um is aligned with the family's values, the values are really clearly articulated that like people know what it looks and feels like when you're walking around, you know, the shop, so to speak, and you feel that family vibe.

[15:22]  Um and and oftentimes that's what keeps families from uh from really it it oftentimes succession planning in family businesses is delayed in part because they don't know how to do that well. Like they feel like okay this next person whoever they are maybe I don't know who from my family is the next right leader. Maybe I'm not sure there is someone in the family who's the next right leader. maybe I don't really trust that someone who comes in here is going to do it with the same level of care and commitment that I have and so it just keeps getting pushed off and pushed off and that ends up putting everything at risk because um you know unforeseen things happen and eventually someone else is going to have to lead the enterprise. So it's that um thoughtfulness about wanting to continue in that way that sometimes motivates

[16:09]  people to to start a process of of doing that thoughtfully. If the Heart and Hustle podcast has ever sparked any idea or made you think differently, do us a favor. Make sure to guys share this, post it on LinkedIn, or even text that nonprofit friend that you just have. Whatever works. This is what keeps the conversation going and allows us to just grow this community together.

[16:33]  Seriously, we appreciate you. So, good. I'm happy that I brought that up because you don't know. That's why I kind of left the place and and and and I'm happy that I was able to move past it and I'll tell you exactly why. The CEO at the time um she used to be HR for 20ome years and then that's what she knew. Okay. I don't think she was the right person to be president in my honest opinion and listen I think I know business quite well. So whatever, especially I know a great leader. She told me when I walked into her office, and this is after spending about already seven, eight years within the company, and I'm being the go-to guy they call on to um, you know, go help other stores, open up new stores, taking a store in the hood that was getting ready to close and really, you know, make it a profitable store. Um, I wanted to do more. You know, I wanted to be an air

[17:21]  supervisor. I didn't want to be in one box. I wanted to overlook the 10 boxes, right? And she says, "I waited 25 years for my opportunity. you have to wait for yours. And I'm like, what? Mind you, I'm young. I I started there as a manager as 19. I already have eight years in. And I'm like, there's no damn way that I'm spending another 20 years. It was Subway, by the way. So, just imagine, okay, I don't want to smell like bread and onions the rest of my life, especially in one Subway. So, uh yeah, I I I left and you know, we seen so much change happen when that took occur, right? because from the leadership perspective and and I think they did lose a lot of the values. Um and I don't know I really dad had kids that now I think are in the business and and maybe son now is actually taking it back and maybe he he he you know witnessed that.

[18:06]  Um I just don't know why that was the decision but you know who knows maybe life was too good and felt maybe I could take a step back because I'm pretty sure that's another problem. Is that another problem that you see hear a lot of times Christie? uh that that uh people feel like it's time to step back or they haven't the money's good and they feel like, hey, I want to really enjoy this, so I'll let somebody else run the business, my family-owned business that then probably doesn't become familyowned anymore. Um yeah, I mean, I think uh so there's a there's a few scenarios. It's interesting when you say that. I I my first reaction is I'm much more likely to hear about people who don't want to step back maybe when they should, maybe when it's time, right?

[18:46]  um you know they I think people who are founders and entrepreneurs who are very committed to their companies will often work into their 70s into their 80s um and you know we'll have people who also want opportunities to grow and not really sure how that's going to happen and things like that. So I think it's I think it's more likely that people hold on a little too long than then they they step away too early. But to your point, you know, um there are lots of reasons why uh somebody who's in a leadership role or owning a business would make a different choice. And yeah, um you know, those choices are sometimes challenging.

[19:24]  They're complicated. Uh, and what we see most often is people who who if if I have to make a choice, let's say I have to sell the business, let's say I have to step back for a variety of reasons. Um, or you know, I'm thinking about succession or you know, we're going to, you know, we're going to have to close a plant and that's going to disrupt people. Like there's those are really difficult decisions oftentimes to make.

[19:47]  And so the um the families that we see who do that best are the ones who think about all the impacts and the change and how it's going to cascade, you know, across the organization down the organization and how to do that um with as much grace as they can. So I'm really going to give you a good question here.

[20:07]  Okay. Okay. I'll just about this one as well. Um, so as I speak to a lot of nonprofit leaders, especially those that are kind of in the space or even in the healthcare space, but they're talking to those um they're working nursing homes and what I'm hearing is that in a few years we'll have way because of the baby boomers, we'll have way more people over the age or way more people at the age of 65 than is 18y olds or something like that. Do you feel like there's going to be a shift in what that looks like with so many of our baby boomers maybe wanting to retire, not having keeping family legacy or do you think there's going to be a spark there even in your space as well when this is starting to happen? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think the shift in our space is already here. Um, they've been talking for a while. I think over the the next 10 years uh the the volume of uh businesses

[20:56]  that are going to need to be passed on uh to the next generation and some of those people are going to some these people are going to send it um are going to share it with their kids, right? They're going to they're going to find someone from their children or their niece or their nephew or things like that to be the next leader or they're going to bring in professional management and things like that. Or they're going to choose to exit the business because there's not enough energy in the next generation. But there's a huge wave of that happening over the next 10 years and there's opportunities with that and then there's also threats with that. You know the opportunity is um knowing you know knowing what's happening in all of these industries and all of the change that's going to be happening in one in those organizations like you know how do you come out on top and that's just a really kind of interesting question looking at your competitive landscape and what the

[21:44]  changes are going to be. um you know the threat then is you know not managing whatever that transition is going to be well and um harming the business or or leaving value on the table if that's what you want to do you know so um there's a ton of that and then uh but we're also seeing when we think about like multigenerational I mean we work with multigenerational families right so a lot of what we do is helping people who are you know baby boomers and sometimes a little older engage with their Gen X, Millennial, Gen Z, uh, family members. Um, the when we look at like the millennials and the Gen Z's, those are pretty decent size uh, cohorts that are coming up with a very different sense of work and what that means. And um so the other thing that we see a lot

[22:34]  in in the family dynamics around these things is you know if you've been running a business for a very long time and the way that you've built the business is that day in dayout grind 12 16 hours a day seven days a week for years and years and years. Um the younger generations are going to have a little different sense of how much of themselves they want to commit to work and that doesn't make it wrong.

[22:59]  it but it is different and so um having those conversations within families about like if you want to be part of this business this is what it takes and but also acknowledging that they're in a different place in their life and um can contribute in different ways at different times. Um, so there's a I think the whole um the generational transition piece is so fascinating both from the business transitions and then just thinking about you know the workforce of tomorrow and if you're in family business some of those workers are going to be your family members and I find it so interesting because family businesses are often exist in part because they want to create better lives for their family members and then they're trying to wrangle with how to how to both, you know, give everything that they want to their children and make them you know, help them to live their potential through good work ethic

[23:48]  and commitment and dedication and taking on leadership roles and things like that. Um, it's just a fascinating dynamic to watch. When you mentioned about just um different times and I feel that we're in a space where we have more entrepreneurs than we've ever actually seen, right, which is why a lot of these spaces are are looking for people because during a pandemic, people realize they're worth it looks like so that they're out there doing their own things. Maybe they have joined back in with their families on some of these businesses. But I I'm also um seeing like it's so easy for some of these businesses to really make changes with a little bit of innovation. Are is that what you're seeing? Are you seeing the growth there as well while we're having a lot of millennials kind of, you know, being creative and want to be their own boss? Are you seeing actually more more uh millennials getting into family businesses?

[24:35]  Yeah. So, it's you know, I think a couple things that we see. One is that um more and more younger family members who come out of family businesses are coming to the conclusion that working in their family business is actually a really great opportunity. you know that they will um they have not only the opportunity to perhaps uh have uh you know roles and contribute in ways that they may not have gotten in an organization where they're just you know another employee number in a really large or a really large company. Um but also that then they get the extra bonus of you know being able to work side by side with their parents or their siblings or their cousins. So the the a lot of younger folks are seeing it as a

[25:24]  really attractive career path in ways that um maybe 10 years ago, you know, the again, if you think about what we're told about what success looks like and things like that. That idea of going to work for the big multinational public company and the cache and so on and so forth that comes with those sorts of jobs or starting things up yourself and the scrainess and so on and so forth that comes with that. um the working in the family business I think is becoming more and more attractive and you know as relates to the innovation that's one of those places where when we're trying to build bridges between the founders and the leaders of today and the leaders and contributors of tomorrow um where innovation is a place where where um younger folks can really contribute. um

[26:11]  you hear about it in sort of multigenerational workplace um conversations about um you know sort of upward mentoring or mentoring people who are older than you and like the ability to help people understand technology and AI and all of these things that are emerging and how they can impact the business like that's a real way for younger folks to build credibility and to make a contribution uh because they're more naturally oriented and just sort of more immersed in those new technologies.

[26:39]  You know, it was the coolest thing that I think I've ever done. It was actually right before I got on with you. I was um I've taken over the board, right? It's a very older um generation of people on the board. I They probably got me beat by 20 30 years, right? So, I'm I'm having a challenge here. How do you actually add AI when people are not using AI? So she um we have scholarships coming up and she had to write a brief like 30 second to a minute on each student based off you know the essay they wrote and all this other stuff. Yeah. And she was already doing it but I she told me she was doing it yesterday. I said hey can you jump on a call? I would love to show you what Chad GPT can actually do for you. And she's like okay. She already had like the whole you know robot thing. So today I get on and I said hey did you already

[27:27]  write one? And she said yeah. And I said okay well give me that person that you wrote. So I literally I said I'm teaching her about charity BT. It's about how you prompt it. You know it's you what you ask is what's going to give you. So make sure you're asking the right questions. So what is it that you were trying to get out of these you know stories? So she's telling me and I'm typing it in for her and then I say okay let's I already had everything in folder so it's easy for her to just copy and paste. So hey look this is the copy.

[27:50]  This is okay. We're going to copy these two essay. I think it was a recommendation letter. I paste it and just like that she's seeing it live time because you know I'm sharing my screen and she's like and I read it to her and she's like wow that was good. I said yeah watch this I'm going to delete all the data I gave it but keep that prompt and then you know I paste the next ones and then same thing and she's like the second one she's like I hope you're saving these. So I said look how cool this is. And then I said you can because I'm still in that same little prompt you know and I can just go back and they're all here and all you got to do is copy paste. it'll save you time. She's like in her early 70s. I said, "I want to be able to buy you back your time so you can enjoy your life. I don't want you to sit here. I mean, if you want to, kudos to you, but I don't think you really do." And she was just in awe. So, I'm telling her like, "Hey, how this could

[28:38]  be really helpful and beneficial to um the, you know, the organization." And she's like, "No, yeah, I agree." So, to have her on board, I'm like, "Yes." Because sometimes they do want to learn, but no one is teaching them. No one takes the time to teach them. So kind of to what you were saying right mentoring up at times not for the wrong reasons but just to kind of realize that we are in a different generation technology looks a little bit different but actually I would I want to ask you um just thinking from let's say father son perspective you know dad has has really started something and now it's maybe time for son to kind of fill those shoes. Are you seeing some some shifts there at times maybe where dad is not ready but he should be ready? Like what does that actually look like and what are some of those conversations and how do you even provide advice at that

[29:25]  point? Yeah. So there are a lot of metaphors about that. You know people talk about passing the baton. Um and I I I always think about it as a little bit of a dance. um when when you've got an identified successor and when it's your child in particular, um I think that there's like everyone wants that to go really well, right? And the parent who has spent so much time developing their child to be ready for the opportunities that the world brings to them. They want them to be able to step up and and take things on and be successful. And yet at the same time, um nobody's quite sure how to do it. Uh what we find is um you know the the current leader uh often you know isn't really sure if their kid is ready would feel more comfortable giving them a little bit of responsibility at a

[30:13]  time. um you know isn't really ready to let go of the pieces that they have most loved about their job and and you know very frankly a lot of people who are entrepreneurs and leaders a lot of their identity is in their business and in their career and they're the person who has led the organization and parked in the nice parking spot and sat in the corner office and had all the relationships with the clients and the vendors and goes to the ribbon cutings and so on and so forth and um a lot of them haven't really thought that much about what they're going to do afterwards or really fully envisioned what it's going to look like when their successor is super successful. Um, and so there can be some resistance and sometimes people who really want for it to work really well are kind of undermining things without even recognizing it because they they're not communicating about the things that they're feeling. They they're coming

[31:00]  across, you know, they're getting little looks on their face that suggest that they don't really agree or they're not really sure and things like that that slow down uh the ability. And then oftentimes the kid is who's usually at that point is a full- grown adult and very capable, right? But um they want to respect their parent, right? So they don't want to overstep. They don't want to ask for more than that person is ready to give them. And they're sensitive to those little um reactions that they're getting that will signal to them that they're either doing it right or not or doing it wrong or that it's going well or it's going poorly. And so um sometimes what it really takes is just you know two things. a very explicit plan that says, you know, here's what succession is going to look like. It's not going to happen overnight. It's going to happen over the next year or two years or three years.

[31:44]  And we're going to look at it each quarter. We're going to make goals that says like this quarter, this is what you're going to take on. This is the relationships I'm going to pass on to you and things like that. And there's going to be a a timeline. We're going to say, you know, my target retirement is three years out. Just just putting a target retirement date out in the universe. like everybody's um energy starts to steer towards working towards that goal and it gives people permission to say like we're working towards this shared project of allowing you to move to your next career chapter and allowing me to take take on the role by the state so let's all move towards it together right and the other piece there is a lot of communication because um people worry about the way that it's going to impact their their personal relationships with their families and um you know there are a lot of people who are very successful

[32:32]  business leaders who maybe aren't naturally gifted at having heartto-he hearts with their family members like you know they're it's just maybe not how they're wired and so figuring out like how are we going to talk about this stuff when it comes up and that's you know we work to help facilitate those things that's part of the reason oftentimes people will work with us is because we'll create the process in the space that says okay what is it that you guys want to do together how will we know that we're successful and let's just make sure we keep having the conversations and checking in and adjusting as we um because that can be a lot more comfortable than trying to figure it out and just like dealing with those um feelings of discomfort but not actually acting on them and and improving the situation. So when you think about I'm such a mindset person and what we tell people really sparks that mindset shift if you had to talk to son you had to talk to dad and you think about some

[33:19]  words of advice for both both parties. What does that sound like for dad and son to just kind of think a little bit differently during the time of transition? Yeah. Um for dad I think um it's uh the transition for you as a human being as a person is going to be hard and just acknowledging that and being aware of that is important. Uh having something to move towards is helpful.

[33:49]  So, um, you know, people often envision themselves playing golf or whatever it is that they're going to do, and that's going to last you three months or six months, and then you're going to be bored to tears, and then you're probably going to be dabbling back in the business and driving your son crazy, right? So, um, having something to move towards, is there a charity that you're passionate about? Do you want to move into coaching and mentoring or whatever that's going to look like? Um, and start taking concrete actions to move towards that thing. That will help. Um, and then get really clear in your head about what success looks like and how you will know if uh your successor is being successful. Like what are the markers?

[34:27]  Like well the company's performing well and the executive team says you know whoever's whoever that works for that person is saying that they're enjoying the process and you know the clients aren't calling you freaking out because they don't know what this person is doing. Like those are indicators of success. Um, and then it's very very common for your child to be much more prepared and aligned with what you want than you know. And you won't know that until you start seeing them live that role. And so, um, allow space for you to build confidence over time. And then I would say for the next generation, um, patience is really important.

[35:07]  Um, empathy. I think having empathy for that person's position and the change that they're going through, right? Um, and surrounding yourself with uh good advice and counsel outside of your family and outside of the people who have been aligned with your um with your dad. You know, uh get yourself an executive coach, get yourself, you know, join a peer group, get yourself people around you who can be your people and help you think about how to navigate that transition well. And um and then just give yourself permission to be the kind of leader that you want to be because very very frequently um you know the the person who's stepping into the role is going to bring something

[35:54]  different to the table that the business will benefit from and need. Uh but it's not going to look exactly the way their parents did it. And that will be uncomfortable at times, but also really can give you the opportunity to help take things to the next level. I don't know about you, but this has been a really good conversation. I'm having a lot of fun just sitting here like, "Wow, this is some good information." And I I can imagine you deal with this um time and time again, so it's it's easy for you to talk on. But I I you know, those are experiences that people are experiencing. I could imagine, right?

[36:25]  You talked about how this is very uh when family-owned business is such such a part of our our world here. We got to talk to this level, right? We because this is really where it's probably happening right now. We're going to see a lot of this happening transitioning over. So, I felt that there was some some good advice. How long have you said you you've been in this space um as a whole? Uh 13 years with the company. And uh you're right. I mean, I am inspired every day by the families that we work with. They're thoughtful. They're committed. They're fantastic human beings and they're working through it the best way they know how and it's it's a wonderful opportunity to partner with them. So, um it's been it's been fun to share a little bit of what what we see from uh our end of things and hopefully other family businesses will hear about it themselves and and sound something that sounds familiar that they can learn

[37:12]  from. I I ask you on AI, you know, because when I speak to these leaders that we we're all on some sort of side of AI, whether it's like, hell no, it's taking jobs or maybe you're in the middle and you're thinking like, oh, actually, you know, I I'm I'm using co-pilot, or maybe you're excited about what it really does for organizations like yours. Are you guys in that AI space at all? What did you guys think about AI? Yeah, it's it's going to be such an incredible tool, right? Um, so I think about it in terms of our mission as a company. And our mission as a company is to help provide, you know, the best resources and counsel for family-owned businesses. And, uh, over the last 30 years, we've published, you know, 50 books and thousands of articles. It's a ton of information. Um, so, as I see AI, there's a couple things

[37:59]  that are on my mind. One is for us, client confidentiality is paramount. And so we uh we have some pretty strong boundaries around what we're willing to uh do with AI models that train on your information. We don't want for anything that's confidential uh to be sort of leaked out into the ecosystem. So that's that's an operating principle for us. Uh and then I'm trying to think about, you know, how do we use AI to um to help us augment and magnify the impact that all of the learning from working with 3,200 some families over the last 30 years.

[38:31]  like that's a lot of um that's a lot of knowledge, that's a lot of experience. So, how do we use that to kind of repurpose our information in new ways that families can engage with to make it more accessible to our consultants who are working with families so that they can bring the ve sort of very best uh information to their clients. Um but to your point, like people have different feelings about it, I think the other thing that we're thinking about is how to be explicit about um AI use in our client relationships. And so um we have some families who are super excited about AI as a tool and are using AI to help them um frame family conversations and write family policies and things like that. And then we have other families who would similarly feel like no this is not a place in our world that we want AI to play. And so helping them also to think about those technological

[39:18]  choices in their businesses and how they're going to make them and how it aligns with their values um is another place that I think we're exploring. Christie, you've been giving me some good information. We got to stop wrapping this up, but if someone's listening right now, whether they run a family biz or maybe they just care about legacy, where where should they start today? Yeah. Well, you can find us where it's the family business consulting group. The website is the fbcg.com.

[39:44]  So, the family business consulting group.com. Um, as I said, we've got 50 books and thousands of articles on pretty much anything that you want from family businesses. search in the search bar for things like succession or ownership or uh next generation or pretty much any problem that you can think of, there's something there for you. Um you can reach us out and find us there. We also have um you know videos on YouTube and things like that. You can find all of our social links there. Um a lot of what we do is free information to help family businesses not feel so alone and understand the challenges that they might be facing. So we hope that um people will get out there and and take advantage of some of that. And just to kind of give a little bit more insight on what it is, you talk about the articles, you talk about um some of these videos as well and some of the resources you guys provide. Is this free to anyone that just goes to the website?

[40:32]  Um can they get on an is it a newsletter that comes out once a month? Like let's really talk about it so those that may want to know more really get to know what the website brings. Yeah. So free resources include thousands of articles, webinar recordings, um and we do have newsletters which include um once monthly article on sort of the most common dynamics in family business. We also have articles for people who advise family businesses who want to think about um how do we bring our skills together to help families succeed. Uh so you can subscribe to the newsletter. I think it's right in the footer of the website. Um the books are available at your major book sellers on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, things like that. but you'll see a landing page for all the book information. We have books on what it's like to be in business with your siblings, uh family business succession, board development, uh family councils,

[41:20]  which is a way that some families organize around uh their family uh their family activities. So, um those are available for purchase. Uh, and then obviously we're a we're a consulting firm and if you think that um you need some help, you want somebody to help facilitate family conversations, there's a button on the website you can uh hit which will say contact us or start a conversation and uh we'd be happy to talk to you about what you're experiencing. I love it. I appreciate it. So, is this time I I don't know if you've seen any of the other episodes or you remember that I said there is a blind question at the end of each podcast. So, it's that time. You're in the hot seat. If I gave you a time machine and and you can actually go back and whisper one truth to yourself before you ever first ever leadership role, what would you actually say and what would you would you even believe it?

[42:06]  Huh? That's an interesting question. Time machine. Um I think I would say keep going. I think in any leadership journey, there are times where you feel like you're on top of the world, and there are times where, you know, you you really feel like you you've got a big hill yet to climb ahead of you. And um no matter where you get into your career, there will be a new um hill that manifests in front of you that you need to climb. Uh and so I think what I what I most would have wanted to hear at that point is encouragement that the hill that's ahead of me is something that I can do and the next one and the next one. Uh, and I think I think that's good advice for anybody. And then would young Christy actually believe it? Let's go back to 18. Let's go back to like 16, 17. We're leaving high school. We think

[42:53]  we're grown. Is she believing this? I think probably because I think I I think probably I wouldn't have gotten to where I've gotten in my career if that wasn't in me somewhere. Sometimes you need a little extra kick. Um, but I think I think underneath there like I I would know that that was true and that I have the capability to do that. And I know the people who are listening to you are in the same spot or else they wouldn't be here trying to learn and develop themselves as well. I agree. Well, Christie, that's it. That was a mic drop right there. We thank you guys for watching. This has been the Heart and Hustle Podcast alongside Christie. Make sure you guys go follow the website. Get those resources if you guys are in the same situation, especially as a small family business. Okay, we talked about it. The statistics are high. We know this is for you. Thanks for watching.

[43:35]  We'll catch you guys on the next episode. Bye.