By Dan Beenken

In September we kicked off season eight of the UNI Family Business Center’s Breakfast Series! We still haven’t figured out virtual bacon and eggs, so the “Breakfast” continues to be in name only. 

Jay and Lisa Daniels, 4th Generation family members of Lodge Cast Iron, were our guests, sharing their           experiences. Their family business story is a unique piece of American culture – and keeping it going for almost 130 years has required a lot of proactive family conversation and governance development.  

On to my top three: 

1. What do you want?
   I appreciate Jay and Lisa both mentioning this simple question and bringing it up like this. If you want to talk with your family about their wishes/plans for the family business, you have to be prepared to share your own! Knowing what you want, that it might change over time, and being able to articulate it are critical to a healthy dialogue. If you aren’t willing to open up, chances are that the rest of your family will play it close to the vest, too. Time to get vulnerable!
2. Clean up before bringing in the outside CEO 
   Lisa made such a great point on this topic. Their family business recently hired an outside CEO for the first time in its history. One point she made was the need to make sure the family isn’t a distraction for company leadership. Forming a family council, professionalizing the board, and letting leadership lead were all parts of helping their family work through this inflection point. New leadership will have all they can handle working on and in the business. They don’t need 15 outside family member owners each sharing frequent opinions and asking for their time.
3. Develop prospective board members 
   Investing in a truly professional board of advisors takes a ton of time and effort. Once you get there and it's working, most families realize it as the priceless tool for growth, clarity, and harmony that it really can be. Like anything else, you can’t “set it and forget it” in terms of the family side. Continuing to develop new family board members is critical to succession and a great way to get the next gen plugged in to the process. Let them observe and get them information so when their turn comes, they are ready!

It was a great kickoff to the new year. We are extremely grateful to Jay and Lisa for sharing their insights, and we look forward to seeing you throughout the rest of this year!