Overcoming Your Own Perceptions

What do you need to do before joining the family business? Have you asked anyone? Margaret-Jean Mannix talks about her struggle to differentiate real and perceived obstacles.

So the advice I would impart, and I would also give this to many next generation members, is that the challenges you perceive are not necessarily the challenges that are really there before you. And in that I mean, as I reflect over my experiences, it’s my perceptions about reality that were my biggest hurdles. So I perceived that I needed a certain degree, I perceived that I needed certain experiences and I was never checking in to say what are the benchmarks? Talking to the previous generation and saying what do you need me to do? What do you need me to prove. And then when I ever did do that, I don’t think they were ever prepared to answer the question, so it’s an interesting kind of chicken-egg scenario, because we look, well I looked, to the previous generation for leadership and for guidance on what are the checkmarks I need to have in order to groom myself to become an appropriate shareholder or owner, and I would say there, you have to make your own way. You have to figure it out for yourself, but keep in mind, no matter what you do, your proving capability, thoughtfulness, stewardship and I think alignment with the values and culture of your family and I think demonstrating that on a consistent basis really breeds to reliability and trustworthiness.