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2011 | Book

The Cycle of Entrepreneurship Read chapter Read first chapter

Wise Wealth

Creating It, Managing It, Preserving It

Authors: Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

Captures the insights of leading academics and practitioners based on decades of research around the globe on factors of success and failures of private wealth, over time. It presents a deep and broad approach to understanding why and how wealth is created, managed and preserved over generations.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
1. The Cycle of Entrepreneurship
Abstract
They say there are many roads to both success and disaster. This book will chart the course toward success — a route with lots of opportunities for twists, turns and dead ends — trodden by that highly individualistic creature, the entrepreneur. There is something inside the entrepreneur that will not be denied. He or she is driven by the great urgency of a new idea that no one else has yet conceived and by an unquenchable need for self-expression and independence.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
2. Generation One — The Entrepreneur
Abstract
Let’s face it, entrepreneurs are a special breed. They find fulfillment in making their unique mark on the world. Working in someone else’s firm would simply not offer the opportunity for self-expression that coming up with an idea and running with it could. At their own company, they know they are architect-in-chief.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
3. Generation Two and Beyond — The Family Business
Abstract
What exactly is a family business? There is no simple answer to this question. In family business research, many varied definitions are used to describe companies with concentrated ownership — that is, companies that are concentrated in the hands of one or more families (as opposed to companies with dispersed ownership). Some believe a family member must be involved in day-to-day management for the business to qualify as a family company; others say that merely having influence over the operation of a firm is enough. We consider a company to be a family business when it has experienced at least one generational transition and is owned by one or more families, such that they exert control over the enterprise. We think this only comes about through holding voting shares equal to at least 30 percent.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
4. Successful Transitions: Essential Questions and Some Role Models
Abstract
Thought and planning lie at the heart of successful generational transitions. Before jumping headlong into action, each new generation is well advised to ask the following three fundamental questions — as individuals and as a family — to clarify strategy and avoid problems down the road:
1.
Who are we?
Our DNA: values, principles, competences and culture
 
2.
What do we want?
Our ownership vision: growth strategies
 
3.
How will we decide?
Governance structures for family and business.
 
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
5. The Future — The Family Office
Abstract
Given the complexity in strategy, governance and relationships involved in family business, one might marvel that a family ever emerges on the other side and wants to find a permanent way to continue together. But many families that have successfully accumulated significant wealth begin to search for a means to preserve it for present and future generations. One way to do so is to form a family office. Although definitions differ, a family office is generally organized to manage and leverage the family’s collective wealth, with an emphasis on stewardship rather than growth. Stewardship implies a long-term view and looks at inherited wealth as something to be treasured and preserved, in real terms, for future generations of family. A sense of stewardship is a powerful motivator, in the first place, not to destroy the financial and philosophical legacy of the founder and, second and ideally, to extend the reach of these resources into the modern day.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
6. The Family Office: What to Keep Your Eye On
Abstract
Perhaps the number one responsibility of a family office is to create a comprehensive overall strategy that ensures family wealth and the ability to fulfill the SFO’s purpose for years to come. This is a considerable challenge and, like other issues highlighted in this book, it is murkier and more complex than it looks from the outside. The number one priority and key success factor is clarifying what the family really wants to accomplish and then aligning every other decision to accomplish that one overarching imperative. Although there are many choices, knowing which options are best for your family and family office is less straightforward.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
7. Single-Family Office or Multi-Family Office?
Abstract
In earlier chapters we have seen how challenging it can be to employ both cutting-edge design and efficient administration in a single family office. The difficulty in achieving the goals of a family office can be either eased or accentuated by joining a multi-family office (MFO), depending on your family’s situation. As we noted in Chapter 5, an MFO often forms when a family that already has an SFO seeks ways to reduce costs or to retain staff by asking other families to join it. The example of the Bessemer Trust later in this chapter shows that, with a clear mission and good governance principles, many of the benefits of an SFO can indeed be maintained in an MFO, provided that the participating families share the same objectives. However, MFOs do not always gradually evolve from SFOs; some are MFOs from the outset, for example Stanhope Capital (discussed in more detail later in this chapter).
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
8. The Cycle of Entrepreneurship Continues
Abstract
We have traced the evolution of families in business from the first inklings of the founder’s great idea to a growing family business and finally, with luck and hard work, to the family office. From there, the next generation’s hopes and dreams are on the line as the family supports the renewal of the cycle of entrepreneurship started many years ago.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
9. How It All Comes Together — The Long-Term View
Abstract
Over the course of this book we have explored many issues relating to the concept of the cycle of wealth. We have looked at the beginning of the creation of wealth — most typically by entrepreneurs. When the family grows — either in the same generation or in the next — the business becomes a family business. Over time, business considerations are enlarged to include an ownership platform.
Joachim Schwass, Håkan Hillerström, Holger Kück, Colleen Lief
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Wise Wealth
Authors
Joachim Schwass
Håkan Hillerström
Holger Kück
Colleen Lief
Copyright Year
2011
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Electronic ISBN
978-0-230-29527-8
Print ISBN
978-1-349-33122-2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230295278