Devin Deciantis
Not all family companies need to innovate, just the ones that want to survive. And as you look at the future, the process of responding to what’s happening in the world around them in terms of the dynamically changing, accelerating pace of change, technological change, innovation that’s happening in the environments that surround these family companies affect the ways in which they need to respond, and the next gen in particular seems to be a unique source, a unique asset within family companies to be able to begin to respond to some of these changing threats. So this is something all companies have to cope with, but in many ways, family companies have a unique tool, a hidden asset in their next generation to the extent that the senior generation can foster that, can encourage success but can also provide permission to fail, I think is really important for these systems.

Raphael Amit
Very important issue, I obviously have that thought, substantial time, because I think it’s really a front and centre issue that families, in particular younger generations, self-actualization, self-fulfillment, and happiness, if they have a platform that enables them to then realize their aspirations, either by starting a new business or by having that platform or system in acquiring and then growing an existing business, that has many advantages. On one hand it enables the ongoing renewal of the family enterprises, and on the other hand it also enables family members their happiness and self-actualization. So by having a culture that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship, by having the situations and mechanisms to implement that and enable family members to realize their aspirations, those two things in my experience have been enormously powerful in enabling families to survive one of the most difficult issues and that is the management of conditions in ownership management and control.