I’m back and a lot has happened. Here’s an update on:

• My Dad
• My Brother Charles
• My Nephew Rupert

Two months ago we had a memorial service for my Dad, who passed away after struggling with Alzheimer’s disease for these last 10 years. The memorial service was actually a very positive experience. It helped us think of his whole life, rather than just the last few years of illness. It was a cause for gratitude and admiration and celebration. Lots of good memories.

How has the situation with Sarah’s brother evolved?

So, the update on my brother Charles and his wife Susie. Actually, his ex-wife. They have divorced. Not cleanly I’m afraid. She has a new partner who is extremely rich so maybe there’s some satisfaction for her there. Charles has thrown himself into his work and he’s become a little workaholic. Maybe it’s his method of coping and finding an escape. And he is good at what he does. And there is a lot that needs to be done. I have a slight nervousness that Charles’ ceaseless churning of projects means that some of them aren’t fully thought through. There’s a difference between activities and achievement! But from the point of view of the numbers and finances, everything looks healthy, so I’m not complaining. How is my brother feeling? Well, he seems happy enough. But I’m not sure that I really know. He doesn’t share his feelings very much these days. At least I get to see a lot of him. And I think being able to work with my brother IS something special. I’m sure that he and I are much closer than we would have been without the family business. So that’s a positive in the current situation.

Has Rupert made the impact they expected?

I’ll finish this update by talking about Rupert. Ah, he’s turned out not to be the star we all thought. He’s still working in the business, and contributing, but there are no promotions on the horizon. He’s actually at a lower level now than other people in the Next Generation, who include his brother-in-law. Sometimes I feel a bit disappointed that he didn’t come through in the way I hoped and expected. But maybe the fault lay with my unrealistic expectations, rather than Rupert not trying his best. Beyond Rupert’s performance as a manager, there’s another circumstance – and I call it a circumstance not a problem – that is somewhat tricky. We have a Shareholder’s Agreement and, when Susie got divorced from Charles, she was forced to sell her shares to a member of the bloodline. She chose to sell them to Rupert, her son. In the divorce proceedings Rupert has completely taken Susie’s side. And now in the owners’ council he is also taking up her campaign for higher dividends – directly against the wishes of his father. It’s unfortunate to have to live with this tension between father and son. I’d like there to be much more unity among those of us who are owners. If I had a magic wand right now, and I could wave it over one of the three circles of family, business and ownership, I’d wave it over the ownership circle. My hope is that, going forward, the owners will be able to achieve a clear and shared view about what we want for our business, and what we expect from our business. The more we can get that right, and provide conceptual guidelines for the management, the more I think we will be in very good shape for the future. Will we succeed in this? We’ll have to wait and see.