Anderson Tanoto saw the potential for his family business, Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), to become a leader in sustainability. Through his journey in transitioning the company into more sustainable practices, Tanoto learned that failure, perseverance, and equity are key ingredients to creating meaningful change ..read more

It was a routine activity that led to a life-threatening accident, a coma, and multiple cranial surgeries. Adam Farver, Chairman of the Board and fourth generation of his family enterprise, Pella Corporation, found himself eavesdropping on doctors who doubted his full recovery. Faced with frightening questions about his future, Adam took stock of his life before the accident, consulting his late great-grandfather and grandmother’s wisdom: what would he do now?   Listen as Adam tells the story of his realizations, recovery, and resetting his purpose. We are also joined by experts Dave Whor ..read more

Along with their younger sister Melissa Steiner, Stephanie Jackson and Kimberly Paxton-Hagner are co-owners of their multigenerational family enterprise, Kwik Lok. If you’ve ever bought bread, tortillas, or apples in a bag, you’ve already used their product! Their grandfather, Floyd Paxton, invented the plastic closure tab that keeps food fresh and tracks the supply of many of our favorite foods.   The sisters’ road to family enterprise leadership started as a total surprise: their grandfather and father never intended for women in their family to take over the business. But their father ..read more

As the brainchild of Kent Johnson’s great-grandparents, Highlights for Children has been an explicitly purpose-driven company from its inception. A passion for serving, honoring, developing, and educating children informs every decision made in this family business. Purpose is so ingrained at Highlights for Children that the in-house newsletter is called “The Purpose,” and the company even has a Chief Purpose Officer!   But when building up the importance of purpose, how do leaders make sure they and their organization actually walk the walk? How does a commitment to living your values im ..read more

Enrico Leta expected to continue to lead and work in his family enterprise, a highly successful regional chain of high end supermarkets started by his Italian immigrant grandfather. But he did not expect that the second generation—Enrico’s father, aunts, and uncles—would decide the best future for their family business rested on leaving the third generation to find their own ventures. Dazed and untethered, Enrico set off to find a new career path and purpose. His story inadvertently illustrates for us what guest expert Dave Evans refers to as “designing your life” with curiosity, community, ex ..read more

Meghan Juday is among the fourth generation of leaders in her family enterprise, IDEAL INDUSTRIES, an electrical and electronic manufacturing company. Currently the Chairman of the Board, she has faced challenges on a wide spectrum from the isolation of being a lone female Chairman to mitigating the shortage of trades professionals. She has proactively tackled these problems and more while contemplating the legacy of her leadership and of her family enterprise.   Listen as Meghan discusses stewardship, “emotional returns,” and the negative aspects of legacy. Guest experts Jennifer Penderg ..read more

Herschend Family Entertainment has a trademark: “Creating Memories Worth Repeating.” As the largest family-owned themed-entertainment company in the United States, you might think running the business is all fun and games. But as Chris Herschend explains, working cooperatively and productively with family can be difficult.  Is it worth it? Absolutely. Chris, his siblings, and his cousins have been able to define a shared family purpose: to live, love, and serve together. Listen as he shares his lessons learned—and points to what we are “wired to do.” We are also joined by expert Jennifer ..read more

Leaders from five different industries share how Professor Emeritus John Ward influenced them and their family enterprises during their time at Kellogg and beyond. These five different impacts provide lessons that all family business leaders can leverage ..read more

Which is better, securing financial stability or building something in the world? For those with the entrepreneurial gene, the answer is always ‘building something.’ Good thing Andreas Kuster inherited this gene when he needed to revitalize Europe’s oldest cookie manufacturing company, Jakob's Basler Leckerly ..read more

Anne Eiting Klamar had not been groomed to succeed her father in the family business. In fact, she embarked on an entirely different career. But when it turned out she needed to run the family business, she stepped into her father’s shoes. And she quickly found out they didn’t fit her ..read more