Family Meetings: Communication, Education and Family Cohesion
Overview
Effective communication and cohesion are critical to long-term family success. Family meetings are most successful when they are part of a larger communication strategy. The annual family meeting provides an opportunity to educate and inform family members/shareholders as well as foster greater unity. Poor communication and education and a lack of cohesion among family members can create immeasurable risk to the long-term survival of the family and the business. If family meetings are successful, family members emerge better equipped to be responsible shareholders and stewards of family wealth. As we enter the family meeting season, Edouard Thijssen, Co-Founder of TrustedFamily, provided a framework for defining a communications strategy for the family meeting.
Topics discussed included:
- Aspects of planning and executing effective meetings, including logistics, budget, educational content, fun activities, proper role of outside advisors, and generation or group specific activities
- Defining meeting goals, objectives and measure results