I can’t believe my good luck.

I’ll instead define a high-functioning family. You enjoy each other. You don’t engage in public family quarrels. You believe you’re a part of something bigger than yourself—namely, the family. Selfishness is discouraged, because you’re stewards, and your job is to hand it over in better shape to the next generation. One value both the Hendersons and Perdues have is that we’re frugal. We just came back from a family vacation, and every member traveled economy class.

Each grew to meet the needs of the respective families. I like to compare it to the way the British versus the Americans handle things. The British don’t have everything spelled out in a constitution, but they somehow manage to make decisions and move forward based on precedent. That’s how the Hendersons do it. Just, after 182 years, we have ways of doing things. We’ve been around so long, that culture works for us. The Perdues are 102 years old, so not new at this. But since it has an operating company, it has got to be a whole lot more formal. (Note: The Hendersons sold Sheraton Hotels in the late 1960s, while Perdue remains a family business.)

The Hendersons tend to be quite high-tech. My nephew Eric [who runs the office] is quite comfortable with all the FAANGs [Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google]. He operates out of Cambridge, Massachusetts; and I don’t know how he did this, but he’s surrounded by the FAANGs, and he hangs out with them. I know that when he gives a report at the next Henderson family reunion next Saturday, he will keep us on the edge of our seats, telling us about the things going on in ultrahigh-tech. The Perdues, on the other hand, are completely different. We get excited about investing in a new grain facility.