“Talkin’ ‘bout my generation”
In 1965, Pete Townshend from The Who wrote the song My Generation and its lyrics include the line “talkin’ ’bout my generation”, which is about trying to find a place in society.
My father’s place in society is clear. He has spent time growing the business and making it successful, as well as upholding our family name within the community, progressing the profession and then positioning the business for the transition between generations. Now that is pressure.
What is less frequently discussed however, is the pressure put on the next generation, the generation set to inherit the results of all this hard work and success. Successful parents can be hard to follow – trust me!
It can be a struggle to live up to the expectations of our parents, not just to do well at school, sport and get a good job, but to be the successful custodian of the family’s name and financial security. These are high levels to meet, particularly when we may not have chosen the business or even to be in business in the first place.
A family business, particularly an established funeral director, can offer a secure future with privileges, rewards and advantages, but does this help us form a separate identity to define who we are in the real world? Or are we destined to always be the ‘boss’s child’ and have to deal with the snipes of “you only got to where you did because of who your parents are”?
For me, distancing myself from the family business when I was younger was important. Living and working away from the area helped me develop as a person, exercising individual choices, making my own mistakes, listening to me.
It helped me find out what my interests and skills are, but would those interests and skills be used within the family business? What is the price of working in the family business? There are certain and clear benefits, but what are the hidden costs? Abandoning a dream? If you don’t exhaust that possibility how will it manifest later in life? Going out on my own for me was helpful to make sure this was the career I wanted.
The family business was always seen to be a great opportunity, not a burden. I was never pressured to be a part of the family business and was supported to find my own way. This helped me find what my motivations were for coming to work in the family business. Being aware of my motivations and highlighting them is important.
Obviously, a parent/family business owner should be concerned about unprepared, disinterested or unmotivated members of the next generation who just want to take over the reins for the wrong reasons. You can’t just hand it to them regardless of their ability. Why can’t you bring in outsiders to run the company?
Every family business owner/parent should be mindful of this pressure on the next generation, just as they are mindful of the pressure they face in building their successful business in the first place.
But have we ever had that conversation? No? Are we lucky enough to still be able to have the conversation about taking on the family business? Do you as a family business owner/parent suffer from a ‘sticky baton’? Have you put as much time into thinking about retiring and what to do as you have training up the next gen?
The transition between generations is a process, not an event. A family business is not something you inherit from your parents, it is a business you borrow from your children.
The future
The Next Gen group was set up by the SAIF CEO Terry Tennens, and will be led by myself and Daniel Ginder.
The concept is to create a group of the ‘Next Generation’ from the members of SAIF where we share the stresses and strains of being the boss’s child. We will interview past presidents and leaders within the funeral field to gain their perspective, business models and plans, and all the other aspects of running a business.
We will also ask the questions you and I need answering so that the next gen are prepared and aware of their place within society.
Next Gen is a group set up to help the smooth transition between generations, without any stuttering, essentially I’m not trying to “cause a b-big s-s-sensation, I’m just talkin’ ’bout my g-g-generation”.
The SAIF Next Gen will be interviewing Cllr Darren Carpenter as part of a series of interviews. Part of the interview will be published in SAIFInsight and the full interview will be accessible for SAIF Next Gen members online. If there are questions to ask, please contact Daniel Ginder.
Tags: Business, Daniel Ginder, family, Jamie West, M K Ginder, Next Gen, next generation, SAIF, The Who, West & Coe