The majority of business-owning families lack guidance on effective ownership development. Leader- ship development of the next generation is one significant reason for families’ inability to transition their enterprise from one generation to the next.
This book serves as a resource and support tool to help enterprising families learn and develop thoughtful, capable ownership by investing in and nurturing an owner’s mindset. This includes building “ownership literacy,” along with a genuine sense of stewardship.
It offers a learning structure and approach for each stage of an owner’s development across the lifespan (from earliest years to retirement), taking into consideration the lifecycle stages of the family. The authors make clear that owner- ship development shouldn’t be confined to earlier ages; any owner at any age can gain ownership- related perspective and skills that can contribute to greater family harmony and business success.
The book provides enterprising families and their advisors with examples and practical advice for the promotion of knowledge, skills, and capabilities that incorporate a broad range of topics spanning from personal and interpersonal, to leadership and wealth, to business, ownership, and financial.
Author
Wendy is a senior consultant at The Family Business Consulting Group, working closely with business leaders, family firms and boards. She brings deep knowledge and perspective to global clients across sectors, leading conversations with multi-generational families on governance, family enterprise continuity, leadership, next generation preparation and conflict resolution. She is especially adept at establishing integrated governance structures for the family, business and ownership systems that promote alignment, communication and harmony within and across these constituencies.
Wendy is an owner in her family’s winery called Sage Hayward Vineyards which is located on one of BC’s Southern Gulf Islands. She also spent over 20 years as a partner and director of her family’s 130+ year-old U.S. firm where she helped lead approximately 50 cousin partners from the third through sixth generations. Her background and experience with her own family business motivated Wendy to dedicate her career to the needs of family enterprises as a consultant, educator and author.
Wendy is the Academic Director at Family Enterprise Canada (FEC), an organization focused on education and research related to family enterprise continuity. She’s a Lead Instructor for FEC’s Family Enterprise Advisors (FEA) program, a role that ensures she brings a sense of objectivity and fairness to tricky issues at the intersection of family, business and ownership. She works with business families every day, including her own, helping them navigate the challenges of operating, governing and transitioning their enterprises.
As an educator, Wendy is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, where she leads programs for business families in the Business Families Centre. Previously, she taught board dynamics in the Director’s Education Program for the Institute of Corporate Directors at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She also taught programs to both families and rising generation members at the Cox Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University.
Wendy is co-author of the two books: Human Resources in Family Business: Maximizing the Power of Your People, a definitive work on family firm HR strategies and tactics; and Own It! How to develop an owner’s mindset at every age, an invaluable resource focused on ownership development. As a sought-after speaker, she has presented on a range of family business topics at North American conferences including the CALU, Family Enterprise Canada’s Symposium, Family Firm Institute, Transitions East, Business Transitions Forum and the Canadian Bar Association of BC.