How to Make Your Family Live up to Its Promise
Lisa Niemeier, family office consultant and founder of graymatter Strategies LLC, feels that family wealth is a gift. Too often and with too many families, this wonderful gift isn’t allowed to live up to its promise.
In her view, families often misunderstand the power and purpose of wealth, limiting its impact through efforts to preserve lifestyle or using it to control the lives of others, often in the name of ‘protection.’
She says families can employ their wealth to nurture the talents of family members and to become all they can be. This in turn allows the family business to better support the family in multiple ways.
Niemeier’s professional niche as a family advisor is her proprietary use of scientifically-based generational research. “The processes and tools I have created have at their core the archetypical generational biases that come into play as we interact with other family members,” she explains.
For example, she says that a patriarch who grew up during the Great Depression will have a different outlook on spending than a Baby Boomer who never experienced the tremendous financial insecurity her father endured.
“We need to start,” she says, “by understanding that each person in the family is a member of a generational cohort and brings those unique characteristics to bear in their interactions with the family.
An example of two brothers shows how this can play out. The brothers are both Boomers, but represent the two distinct segments (“responsible” vs. “free-wheeling”) of that generation.
“Bob and Alex inherited a business that had never reached its potential. Bob had asked Alex to give up a promising career in another field to help him make the business what it could be,” she recounts. “In the early years, their respective talents were complementary. But as the wealth grew, each brother’s vision of how to protect it became a liability. Bob was a numbers guy, while Alex’s strong point was marketing.
The marketing guy grew increasingly frustrated by what he considered lost marketing opportunities; the numbers guy grew increasingly frightened by the risks he felt the marketing guy wanted to take.
Instead of discussing the issues, the numbers guy habitually responded to the marketing guy’s requests with, “No!” In response, the marketing guy began to act autonomously.
The third generation grew weary of the conflict that was starting to affect the business as well as relationships among the family. They wanted family harmony but naturally enough, each pair of children supported their respective fathers. Employees were suffering collateral damage from the conflict.
At this point, family members did a wise thing: when they couldn’t handle their problem themselves, they called in an outside advisor. For them, it turned out to be a fortunate choice.
With Niemeier’s help, the family found a healthy way of dealing with the spend-don’t-spend conflict. Family members began to realize other family members weren’t just being stubborn. Understanding the context behind the conflicting approaches facilitated a discussion toward realistic and workable compromise, yielding a more effective result.
The creation of an outside advisory board became an immediate and immensely practical tool for dealing with the spend-don’t-spend conflict. The numbers guy no longer had to be the bad guy, and the marketing guy could get an objective hearing for his ideas.
“Understanding the context and creating an outside advisory board changed the entire dynamic for the family in a good way,” says Niemeier. They’re keeping the business, it has flourished and the family’s ability to understand different viewpoints means that they can make better decisions.”
To contact Lisa Niemeier, email her at lisa@graymatterstrategies.com or call 804.937.3777. For more information on graymatter services go to www.graymatterstrategies.com.
Search Articles
Latest Articles
The Art of Influence
You’ve proven that you’re a lifelong learner: the act of reading this article shows you are a seeker of new information. But why do you choose to keep on learning?
A Safe Place for Women in Danger
https://www.ack.net/health-care/a-safe-place-for-women-in-danger/article_a0a217b2-374d-11ef-b428-ffd89977ec13.html?blm_aid=21846 Publication –ack.net
During Ukraine’s Dark Times, Kyiv Orphanage a Bright Spot
https://www.newsmax.com/mitziperdue/children-kyiv-orphanages/2024/07/02/id/1170999 Publication –newsmax.com
This Ukrainian Artist Makes Surprisingly Powerful Art Starting With Eyes
https://www.fairobserver.com/culture/this-ukrainian-artist-makes-surprisingly-powerful-art-starting-with-eyes/ Publication – fairobserver.com
Subscribe to Updates
About Author
Mitzi Perdue is the widow of the poultry magnate, Frank Perdue. She’s the author of How To Make Your Family Business Last and 52 Tips to Combat Human Trafficking. Contact her at www.MitziPerdue.com
All Articles
Recurrent Vaginitis
Recurrent VaginitisMOST WOMEN WILL AT SOME TIME EXPERIENCE VAGINITIS At some point in their lives, most women will experience vaginitis. It’s one of the most common gynecologic condition encountered in the office. Typically, it comes about when the yeast or bacteria...
Take Action: Beating Your Competitors
Take Action: Beating Your Competitors Act Faster Than Your Competitors The super-successful people I’ve known have all had a huge propensity for action. They had tremendous agility in carrying out projects rapidly. I remember one night in late 1951, my father Ernest...
Transforming Cardiovascular Disease Prevention In Women
Transforming Cardiovascular Disease Prevention In WomenCARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) IS USA’S LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH FOR WOMEN One in four women will die of CVD, and to put this in perspective, the annual CVD mortality for women is double that of all forms of cancer...
Obesity In Women: New Insights
Obesity In Women: New InsightsOBESITY HAS MORE IMPACT THAN ANY OTHER CHRONIC DISEASE Obesity has enormous impact, partly because it is so widespread and partly because it exacerbates so many other disease states. In the US, there are 93 million Americans with...
Fingernail Infections
Fingernail InfectionsFINGERNAIL INFECTIONS AFFECT WOMEN MORE THAN MEN In contrast to toenail infections, fingernail infections, especially those caused by candida, impact more women than men. This happens because often women’s jobs as housekeepers or dishwashers...
Strategies to Preserve Your Family Business
Strategies to Preserve Your Family BusinessOriginally from http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com/mitzi-perdue%E2%80%99s-strategies-preserve-your-company-family-businessThe widow of Frank Perdue, longtime president and CEO of Perdue Farms, offers nine suggestions on...