The Little Boy Who Became a Monster

You probably don’t know this origin story. (I sure didn’t.)

But you absolutely know the horror it becomes.

The story of a little boy with so much hurt:

A boy born in 1889 to a large Austrian family. His father beats him constantly, his teachers berate him, his mother, the only person who seems to care for him, dies when he is eighteen. He becomes sullen, withdrawn. He drifts... Over time, he evolves into a loner. He refers to himself as ‘Wolf.’ He develops a penchant for blame…

When War calls, the Wolf volunteers… The conflict ends badly. As his country surrenders, the Wolf lays wounded in the hospital, burning with mustard gas and humiliation. He cannot accept this defeat. To him it means weakness, something he despises, mostly because he has so much weakness inside him. When his country’s leaders agree to a peace treaty, he vows to overthrow them one day.” (Little Liar: pg. 28-29)

This little boy was beaten by his father, berated by teachers, and never mourned the loss of his dear mother. She was the only person who cared for him.

This little boy is left with a broken heart. A loner with open wounds.

This little boy was Adolf Hitler.

A timeless truth: Hurt people hurt people.

Hitler's story could have turned out very differently if his heart had been healed. Instead, his pain stewed for decades and compounded, turning him into a stone-cold killer who transmitted his pain upon millions.

We live in a fallen world. There is hurt everywhere.

A family business is not immune to hurt. In fact, I'd argue family businesses are most vulnerable to hurt hearts.

We're vulnerable because the entire enterprise is tied together: family, governance, ownership, and operations. It's all integrated. It's all interwoven. Nothing is separate.

Those financial companies and many competitors we face can leave family pain at home. They can drive to work where it's a "sanitized meritocracy."

Us in family business? Nope. It's front and center. All day. Every day.

Having a family business integrated can be the greatest, undisputed advantage—or the reason for demise.

Healing our own hearts and helping our family, board, shareholders, and teammates heal their hearts is integral to being a steward.

That is why stewardship is an essential ingredient to a family business over decades. Stewardship is about relationships. Relations with self, others, nature, and God. 

A timeless truth: Relationships run the world.

You might be able to ignore the hurt hearts for a while. But when the inevitable succession moment arrives (and it will) unhealed pain will surface at the most critical moments when peace and wisdom are most needed to transcend generations.

Healing our hearts is part of the journey to building for centuries.

No one said this long-term journey is easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Your family business depends on you. Life always invites us to be stewards.

Who can you bless this week with kindness?

Maybe a family member who feels hurt from the past? Maybe a teammate who feels overlooked?

Love is a gift. It doesn't need to be earned. As stewards, you and I can show people how true that is.

Onward,

Matt

PS - Next week I’m going to share my thoughts on the environment of Germany and how it permitted Hitler’s pain to take hold.