Looking Back … Moving Ahead!
 By
Henry D. Landes
March 2002
The year 2002 marks a special time in the life of the Delaware
Valley Family Business Center. It’s the 10th anniversary of
our Family Business Forum, which many consider the heart and soul
of the Center.
As some of you know, I grew up in a family business myself. I.T.
Landes & Son, Inc., of Harleysville is now in its fourth generation.
So naturally when I established my management consultation firm
in 1988, nearly all of my clients were family businesses!
Over the next few years, a dream began to emerge … a dream
of creating a place where business families and their advisors could
together learn to harness the high-octane energy of family business.
To borrow a phrase from "Field of Dreams," a movie about
baseball, "If you build it, they will come."
And 120 members of family businesses did come to our first Family
Business Forum in October 1992 hosted by Sandy Alderfer at the Alderfer
Auction Center in Hatfield. John Ward, a leading family business
author and researcher, was our first speaker. The Chicagoan, who
has presented at the Forum another four times, has become a valued
friend of mine and our Forum community.
To help me set up and run that first Forum, I invited Sally Derstine
aboard. She has been with the Center—and its Forums—ever
since and now serves as our very capable Forum Director.
Initially, our Forums were all-day meetings with fairly heavy input
from academicians. We soon discovered that our members were most
interested in hearing from other business families. And not taking
all day to do it.
Today our Forums feature at least one business family (and sometimes
three or four) who candidly share how they "do the dance,"
how they combine the business enterprise and family life. Many of
these presenting families have been consultation clients of our
Center with whom we’ve walked through some pretty deep waters.
I very much appreciate their willingness to graciously offer their
counsel, expertise and experience. For me personally it’s
exciting to find others who share my passion for helping business
families.
Since 1992 it has been our pleasure to offer more than 50 Forum
programs serving 400-plus family firms. With the strong support
of our Forum Partners (listed above) and members, the Family Business
Forum has become a vibrant "research and development lab"
for families in business–a place to learn and practice new
skills, to cross-pollinate, to give each other ideas, to network
and to provide mutual support. Thank you for your support of the
Dream.
Moving Ahead … Creating the Next 10 Years!
Yes, we will continue to offer excellent Forum programs (see our
2002 Forum program schedule in the box below). In 2002 we also envision
the development of smaller "learning labs" where members
can focus more directly on topics of common interest. These labs
will be developed out of member interest and may include "Successors
in Training," "Retooling CEOs," "Women in Family
Business," "Key Non-Family Managers" and "CEO
Spouses." Stay tuned!
Since most business families need customized support at key points
of transition, we are also expanding our range of executive coaching
and consultation services. From family meeting facilitation, successor
mentoring, mediation, strategic business planning, compensation,
team building and outside board development, our "family friendly"
advisors are ready to walk with you on your journey.
One of my TEC Chair colleagues in San Diego likes to say, "If
you want to know the future, create it." As our Forum moves
into its second decade of serving business families, we invite your
help in shaping it, as well as other services, to better serve you.
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