Schooling is only part of having a growth mindset.  If you have a degree but didn't learn anything, you aren't growing.  I know young adults who spent 5, 6, or 7 years getting a piece of paper only to be left unemployable and in debt.  Growing in knowledge is the objective.  Knowledge incorporates skill, understanding, and acumen.  It comes from learning and experiencing inside and outside a formal environment.  Recognize that the core values of resilience, persistence, and making mistakes are part of gaining knowledge.  Creating a growth mindset in your family must begin with a plan.

My passion is hardcover, paperback, audiobooks, Kindle, and new and old books. Books open up the world of knowledge. Books on Family Businesses specifically create an opportunity to learn and enhance the family enterprise and gain what is called Intellectual Capital. Governance, Family Council, Philanthropy, Succession, and NextGen are topics in my extensive library. Learn real stories and life lessons with autobiographies and biographies. Historic books give perspective on life during those times. Here are some of my top recommendations. 

When I was entering college and deciding on a major, I received guidance from my dad that I should always include business lessons no matter what I choose.  Great advice for any young adult, but especially true if they are part of a family business or stewards of family wealth.  As we sat down with our children during a family council meeting, some members realized their shortcomings of lacking knowledge about balance sheets and cash flow statements.  What should the education criteria be for family members responsible for managing family wealth in the future?

My dirty little secret is that I am a book hoarder. Amazon is my go-to place for impulsive orders to collect literature. Every Saturday, we receive the Wall Street Journal which lists the top books by fiction, non-fiction, and business. Systematically I go through the list to investigate the topics which might be of interest. Although I lean toward non-fiction, The Traveler’s Gift and Where the Crawdads Sing are amongst my favorite in the fiction category. Completely out of my typical genre is The Name of the Wind, recommended by my son, which turned out to be thoroughly captivating. My sister also wrote a book, The Scent of Death, historical fiction, which I couldn’t put down and read in one sitting. Without going into details about fictional best sellers, I will focus my recommendations by subject to include business books, family business books, books teaching values and books created by a family member.

After being restricted from travel with the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself dreaming about our next adventure. My husband and I already traveled to the Galapagos, Africa, and Scotland from our bucket list, but we want to choose carefully for the next trip. Taking in considerations on safety of course, we want to have a purposeful one beyond just a list. The outline for the experiences concluded with finding a place that evokes joy, learning about something, creating a legacy excursion and a memorializing tribute.

Life is hectic with day to day activity distracting families from their business educational goals. The ability to organize and schedule a family celebration or family council meeting is only part of the challenge on the road to educational awareness and proficiency. Determining what areas need further development is a continuous process which needs monitoring for continuous improvement. With the objective of having your business family knowledgeable in a variety are areas such as governance, finance and history, how do you seamlessly continue to evolve from year to year, generation to generation?