Light is coming
“Light is incredibly generous, but also gentle. When you attend to the way the dawn comes, you learn how light can coax the dark. The first fingers of light appear on the horizon, and ever so deftly and gradually, they pull the mantle of darkness away from the world.”
John O'Donohue, author of Anam Cara
A heaviness of heart and spirit is lifting for many and I hope it is lifting for you, too. I’ve begun to reflect on the year that we’ve come through and I am mapping out our plans for 2021. Ambiguity is still with us but with a vaccine on the horizon, I'm hearing more hope and less fatigue from our family business community. The promise of light and hope is astonishing in its ability to lift our spirits and renew our energy. To paraphrase O’Donohue: Light is coming, and ever so deftly and gradually we can pull the darkness away from our world.
Aren't they cute?!
For 25 years, Loyola’s Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) has taught family business successors how to successfully step into leadership within their family businesses. We held our first NGLI pre-launch webinar on December 2. Honestly, it was so exciting to have these next gens come together to start on their own leadership journey.
Graduates of this lauded program develop an understanding of themselves, their families, and businesses, and leave with a practical, professional, and personal development plan. Every year, we get asked if there is a version of NGLI for Now Gens (dads, moms, aunts, uncles, etc.) that can help them transition from their role within the family business into their next chapter of life. For a long time the answer was not yet, but I'm happy to announce that in January 2021 we will be launching our Legacy Institute!
The Legacy Institute begins Jaunary 12-13, 2021
The Loyola Family Business Center is delighted to announce the launch of the long-awaited Legacy Institute, a unique and essential program to help Now Gens experience their own time of self-reflection, challenge, and growth.
The Legacy Institute is designed to help senior family business leaders explore and understand the challenges and opportunities available to them as they transition into their third chapter in life.
Our esteemed guides are Professors Andrew Keyt and Dr. Edward Monte who have been helping individuals transition out of their day-to-day roles into meaningful futures—defining a path that will sustain them in their next stage of life. The Legacy Institute, combines Keyt and Monte’s years of teaching and experience with a dynamic curriculum rooted in peer-to-peer learning, live case-based discussions, and personal coaching. Participants will explore important questions that include:
- How do I move my focus from productivity to generativity?
- Who am I when I no longer have my operating role?
- How do I identify what is most important for me to accomplish in the coming years and how will I define the legacy that I want to leave behind?
- How can I draw a picture of the next phase of my life?
- What governance systems need to be in place in order to support a healthy transition?
- How do I assure that my estate plan will support healthy family relationships as well as minimizing my tax burden?
The Legacy Institute runs 18 months. During this time, the group will meet once per quarter for a total of 6 meetings (4 half-day virtual sessions and 2 full-day retreat sessions). Our inaugural cohort will include 6-10 participants and each participant will receive 12 hours of personal coaching with Andrew or Edward.
If you’d like to explore this program more, please email me or give me a call at 312.915.7738. You can learn more here or, if you're ready to take the next step, you can fill out and application.
Thank you and a favor
We are coming to the end of what has been an exceptionally trying year. Looking back, I hope we've been able to provide you, our members, with what you needed. In March I started writing these member letters on a weekly basis; in June I moved to bi-weekly in hopes we could stay connected, share stories, and walk through the crisis together.
Next year promises to be better. As the Family Business Advisory Board and team plan for 2021, we want to be aware of what you need from us in the months ahead. We hope to change what doesn’t work and adapt new ways to serve you. The board's membership committee (Nick Perrino, Lou Pagano, and Bruce Taylor) have crafted a highly relevant survey to capture your voice and ideas.
Will you please help ensure that what we offer, how we communicate, and who we bring into our programs are good for you and your family in 2021?
One family's journey
We received the most uplifting note last week from a member who shared thanks and news of the past two years of working with us. If you've ever wondered how we work with family businesses over time, this family’s story illustrates how positive work can be done in a relatively short period of time, and how they built a foundation for successful succession of management and ownership.
The family joined Loyola in 2018 and began investing in family business education, family meetings, and articulating their shared vision for the future. At a Loyola facilitated family meeting, family leaders shared their history and their hopes for the future. The family then committed to learn more and enrolled in the Governance and Family Business Stewardship Institutes, asking for and receiving coaching along the way. Their commitment led to quarterly family meetings, where leaders shared high-level financials, operations, and business strategies. They are now engaged in developing a family constitution and have a family business strategy that has positioned them and their next generation for future success.
If you are interested in learning how your family might dive deeper into the work we do at Loyola, please give me a call at 312.915.7738 or email me. You can also fill out an application for membership or request more information.
We will all gather again soon, virtually or in-person, for family Christmas, Hannukah, and other end-of-year holiday celebrations. As you gather, I want to share a wish and blessing for you and your families:
“May you be present in what you do. May you never become lost in the bland absences. May the day never burden. May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities, and promises. May evening find you gracious and fulfilled. May you go into the night blessed, sheltered, and protected. May your soul calm, console, and renew you.”
John O'Donohue
Our virtual offices will be closed from December 21 to January 4. Both Andrew and I will be available by email until then. We can’t wait to see you in the New Year!
