Rising Generation Education
Future owners need opportunities to understand the enterprise, develop their own perspectives, and learn how to participate responsibly. Jennifer Strom helps families create education and engagement that connect shared ownership with individual purpose.
Participation can take many forms, including ownership, governance, philanthropy, and employment. The work helps families clarify those opportunities and the preparation each requires.
Build understanding of shared assets
Education begins with what the family owns, how it is governed, how assets are held, and how decisions are made. Jennifer works with the family and its advisors to make that information accessible and relevant to the rising generation.
Prepare for ownership and governance responsibilities
Family members benefit from understanding the expectations attached to an ownership interest or governance role. The work can address participation, preparation for meetings, communication, and the distinction between being an owner and managing the enterprise. There are also opportunities to discuss individual perspectives on ownership engagement, ideas behind wealth and values, and how to protect family harmony with a broader group of owners.
Make room for individual purpose
Rising generation family members may have interests and ambitions that differ from those of their parents or siblings. Jennifer helps families explore how individual choices can coexist with a meaningful connection to shared assets and family responsibilities.
Create dialogue across generations
Learning is also an opportunity for the leading generation to explain the thinking behind past decisions and for rising generation family members to ask questions. Jennifer designs and facilitates conversations that help both generations understand one another’s priorities.
Questions the work can address
- What should future owners understand, and at what stage?
- How do we prepare family members who will not work in the business?
- What are the expectations for a family council, board, or foundation role?
- How can philanthropy become a meaningful setting for learning and participation?
- How do we support individual paths while sustaining family connection?
What an engagement may produce
An engagement may produce a staged education plan, tailored workshops, facilitated family meetings, participation guidelines, and opportunities to practice governance responsibilities. Financial and legal education is coordinated with the relevant advisors.
Learning that develops over time
Education is designed around the family’s ages, interests, and responsibilities. A retreat or workshop may be a useful starting point, followed by a sequence of learning and participation that develops as family members become ready for greater responsibility.