REVIEW: Wendy Sage-Hayward/Gaia Marchisio/Barbara Dartt — Own It! (BOOK)
The new book by Wendy Sage-Hayward, Gaia Marchisio, and Barbara Dartt is called Own It!: How to Develop a Family Enterprise Owner’s Mindset at Every Age. In some ways, its inception seems to stem from being somewhat of a cautionary tale. “…After we witnessed our clients’ successes — and felt their anguishes as well as our own — we concluded that someone needed to define a better journey to ownership. This book is not only born out of our education, dedication to continuous growth, and experience.
It also reflects years of working with business families and learning with and from them how to avoid the same mistakes we witnessed and experienced,” they write. “…In this book, we intentionally focus on family enterprise ownership, not family business ownership. A family business consists of operating assets only. A family enterprise, on the other hand, consists of a variety of assets beyond the operating business. It may include financial assets such as stock and bond portfolios and cash, real estate assets of any kind (i.e., commercial, residential, or industrial), and philanthropic assets such as a family foundation.
Family enterprises often own heirloom assets such as jewelry, art collections, cars, or a variety of other precious (to the family) material or immaterial items that hold significant emotional attachment and value. Some real estate, such as a family cabin or recreational property, may be considered an heirloom asset for some family members and not others. Family enterprises may also have deferred assets such as insurance, annuities, and specific types of trusts that are monetized after passing. Finally, family enterprises have non-financial human assets consisting of intellectual knowledge, a network of strong relationships and leadership capabilities, among others.”
In short, a lot of responsibilities.
BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Ownership-Development-Family-Business-Publication/dp/3030204189
The book walks a fine line between a tone of caution, and one of encouraging, if standard business and leadership advice. It’s the balance that makes Own It! unique, Sage-Hayward, Marchisio, and Dartt’s multiple and semi-differing perspectives, paired with their shared expertise making the whole thing work. You get this sense of variety, but never at the expense of fluid communication, and critical, concise continuity. The strength of this collaboration is particularly evident in a part of the book christened Developing an Owner’s Mindset. “While knowledge and skills development are necessary, they are not sufficient to realize the gains from truly effective ownership, especially in the case of shared control.
We advocate for purposefully building an owner’s mindset in all owners and prospective owners,” Sage-Hayward, Marchisio, and Dartt write. “A mindset is a set of beliefs, which drive and shape what we do, how we engage with others, and how we behave in every moment and situation…These beliefs become powerful because they drive constructive behaviors…We’re trying to provide a specific, hands-on road map for developing an owner’s mindset and related skillset…Even if you don’t know what future ownership structure looks like, it is a vital ‘runway’ necessary to create effective owners. If those individuals never become owners of your family business, the beliefs and skills can help them become successful in any endeavor they undertake.”
Colin Jordan
