Exhibit I shows these four different vantage points from which to observe family and business members. One viewpoint is that of the “family managers” (inside the family and inside the business) as seen by both old and young generations. When they forget or ignore the other three perspectives, they can easily get boxed into their own concerns. This kind of compulsion includes hanging onto power for the older generation and getting hold of it for the younger. To both generations, it implies the selection, inclusion, and perpetuation of family managers.
A second perspective comes from “the employees,” again older and younger, who work inside the business but who are outside the family. Understandably, they face different pressures and concerns from those of the family managers, even though many are treated as part of the larger corporate family. The older employees want rewards for loyalty, sharing of equity, and security, and they want to please the boss. Younger employees generally want professionalism, opportunities for growth, equity, and reasons for staying. Both age groups worry about bridging the family transition.
A third perspective comes from “the relatives,” those family members who are not in the active management of the business. The older relatives worry about income, family conflicts, dividend policies, and a place in the business for their own children. The younger, often disillusioned brothers and cousins feel varying degrees of pressure to join the business. Both generations may be interested, interfering, involved, and sometimes helpful, as we shall see later on.