What money can’t buy

Fellow steward, 

I recently read this story and it stopped me in my tracks as a family business leader: 

This priest spent decades delivering last rites in hospitals…You become familiar with how people say goodbye to loved ones.

When a parent is dying, their children often go to the priest with a sense of despair. How do I say goodbye to a parent who was so instrumental in my life? How can I possibly tell them how much they meant to me?

The priest’s advice to the kids is to go into the room, one by one, and thank the dying parent for the one thing they’re most grateful for.

“In families that I know have had a lot of problems - strained relationships - the child will often thank the parent for something that cost money,” he said. “Thank you for putting me through college. Thank you for putting food on the table. Thank you for buying me a car.”

“In the best families, the ones I know have solid relationships,” he said, “the kids say the same thing every time.”

“Thank you for believing in me.”

The best families optimize for relationships where people feel valued, seen and heard. It’s that simple and that hard.

We talked last week about handing over luggage (not baggage) to our kids. 

This timeless truth doesn’t stop with our family. This timeless truth overflows into our work. 

In family business, we get the autonomy to show up and play a long game with long term people. 

We get to go beyond a pay check. We get to provide meaningful relationships, meaningful work, and meaningful growth.

We get to provide something extraordinary that money can never provide. A full human experience. Here’s what I mean.

Great family businesses believe in their family and their people to go beyond a pay check (safety & security). Great family businesses create belonging through values. Great family businesses create meaningful work through a mission worth pursuing. Great family businesses create growth through a vision where people can be the best versions of themselves.

It’s messy. It’s hard. That’s what makes a story great.

May we show up in such a way for our family and our business that those around will say “thank you for believing in me.”

Who are you going to connect with this week to let them know you believe in them?

Onward,

Matt