At the Oregon FFI Study Group, family members from three successful family businesses each of which had been in the family over 100 years discussed the importance of know the history of the family business. As each representative member introduce the business, they spoke of the founder, their great-great grandfather. Each knew when and where that founder was born, traveled to the US or traveled within the US finally arriving in Oregon. Each knew how the founder got started in the current businesses and how each succeeding generation passed the business onto the next generation.
During the discussion following the introductions, one of the family members made the observation that part of the success of these businesses was due to the connection each of them had to the founder of the businesses. In turn each member agreed how important that story was to them and feared that their grandchildren would not know that story.
These stories are important. It is who we were and who we are. Capturing these stories and passing them onto the next generation and the next is important work. It may be that it is the work of the current generation to capture these stories orally and in writing as they hand over the business to their successor. These should be seen as a gift one generation gives to another...the story of who we were and who we are. it will be for the next generation to be who they become. Their story will then be told by their children but always in context of who we were.
