Soriano: “Without respect, there is no love”

“Without respect, there is no love. Without trust, there’s no reason to continue.”

THIS a powerful quote from Paul Chucks that must resonate to all family members torn by strife and conflict. It is also a timely reminder as we celebrate the month of hearts.

For the past six years after its founder Richard’s passing, the “A” family typically gathers for their mid-year family and business council meeting every third Sunday of the sixth month.

The family calls it Code 36, representing the third Sunday of the sixth month. It is an event combining family and business performance review with a segment on ownership alignment. I normally add flavor by injecting governance, strategy and growth during the session.

This activity is separate from their regular family and business council meetings. In the family constitution that my advisory firm, Wong Advisory, drafted six years ago, the members of the family council must meet for a total of 20 hours a year spread over five to six meetings while the business council members are required to meet every month.

My firm added Code 36 together with the other governance councils before the founder passed away primarily because the family and the business almost fell apart due to major conflicts on many areas (entitlement, in-law participation, decision-making, power struggle, conflict of interest). The in-fighting was so intense that it grounded the business to a halt for several years and caused so much heartbreak for the founder.

In this year’s forthcoming gathering, a total number of 23 members of the second and third generation are expected to attend. Their ages range from 61 to 15 coming from the founder’s five children and their families. Those below 15 years old can join but are not obligated to be in the function room.

Relevant topics are sorted months before but the objectives are four-fold:

Evaluate the state of family and the business.

Review mid-year performances of the operating units.

Develop long-term goals for the business.

Evaluate policies to govern family- business relationships.

The overarching core messages remain the same and revolve on five powerful values handpicked by the founder himself: Communication + Respect + Trust +Unity = Growth Just like the last gathering in December, the meeting usually starts with the clan’s Gen 2 anointed leader reiterating the family’s shared vision and values and a story about the growth of the business since its humble beginnings in the 1960s.

The objective is to remind the younger generation and the extended family members how their grandfather Richard and his wife jointly founded the business through hard work and honest dealings with customers and suppliers. Then a short seven-minute video of the family history will be played. The emotional video instantaneously reconnects the deceased founder to all the members of the two generations and reminds everyone that through regular and open lines of communication, the family enterprise can overcome temporary setbacks.

After the talk, a Gen 3 member usually in charge of finance will report on how the business performed over the last quarters and the outlook for the succeeding quarters.

Then the legal counsel, a non-family professional, will then provide a quick review of the ownership structure by way of educating newly inducted family members on the importance of stewardship as well as shareholder qualifications and responsibilities. Recently employed family members are those who were invited, signed the constitution and are now full-fledged family assembly members.

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