Very few enterprising families focus on building an owner's mindset in family members. They are busy working and growing their enterprises (rightly so), which prioritizes and values the management role over the ownership role. Many rising generation family members do not choose the path of ownership but are simply born into it. Given these typical patterns, it is not surprising that there is little focus on valuing and building an educated owner to steward the family's assets for future generations.
This book serves as a resource and support tool to help enterprising families learn and develop thoughtful, capable ownership by investing in and nurturing an owner's mindset. This includes building "ownership literacy," along with a genuine sense of stewardship. It offers a learning structure and approach for each stage of an owner's development across the lifespan (from earliest years to retirement), taking into consideration the lifecycle stages of the family. The authors make clear that ownership development shouldn't be confined to earlier ages; any owner at any age can gain ownership-related perspective and skills that can contribute to greater family harmony and business success.
The book provides enterprising families and their advisors with examples and practical advice for the promotion of knowledge, skills, and capabilities that incorporate a broad range of topics spanning from personal and interpersonal, to leadership and wealth, to business, ownership, and financial.

About the Author: Wendy Sage-Hayward is a senior consultant at the Family Business Consulting Group and has been a family business owner for over 25 years. Wendy helps clients navigate the complexities associated with operating and transitioning their family enterprises across the generations through compassionate guidance, meaningful dialogue, and relevant continuity structures that fit their unique needs.
Gaia Marchisio is Aronoff Professor of Family Business and Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship. As Executive Director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center, she keeps innovating both her content and delivery methods by developing degree and non-degree programs to educate both entrepreneurial families, and professional advisors so they can better serve their clients.
Barbara Dartt is a Principal Consultant for The Family Business Consulting Group, assisting family enterprises in tackling succession, management transitions and appropriate family governance, as well as other opportunities and challenges unique to family-owned businesses.