(no spoilers) There’s a wonderful scene toward the end of the final season of the popular TV series Ted Lasso where team owner Rebecca Welton attends a meeting where a “Super League” is pitched. She’s the only female at a board table dominated by old white men, and was rightly apprehensive about even attending the meeting for a host of reasons.
But she speaks up against the plan, which is motivated entirely by its potential for huge profits. “Just because we own these teams doesn’t mean they belong to us.”
This succinctly speaks to the higher purpose of stewardship rather than ownership, and to the notion of considering other stakeholders in an enterprise. A sporting club is often an enterprise with a long history, and one that is expected to endure well beyond the tenure of whomever happens to own it or be on the board.
Whether a sporting club, a non-profit, a family enterprise or generational family wealth, the common thread is the intended longevity relative to the generation who find themselves in charge. In all of those cases, the enterprise does not belong to the owners or directors. Their role is to steward, and eventually step aside for someone else, leaving things in better shape than they found it.
Sometimes in families, it takes an audacious rising generation that might break with previous norms to remind everyone of this important principle.
The original article was published in Family Governance: Does It Belong To Us? - David Werdiger
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A successful family advisor, business strategist, entrepreneur, and thought leader with a proven track record of achievement in driving innovation and growth for entrepreneurial endeavours and not-for-profit organisations.
David's experience includes founding and building multiple businesses from the ground up, and expanding and leading operations into new markets. He is recognised by colleagues as a creative problem-solver and strategist with expertise in coming up with ideas and creating new ways of improving business, strategy, operations, and results.
As a business and family advisor, he provides clients with expert business advice on intergenerational business and wealth transition, advancing entrepreneurial efforts, setting up good governance, improving financial and operational results, and strategic direction. He is also a seasoned program leader with an aptitude for providing governance in corporate and philanthropic pursuits with a strong focus on culturally focused non-profits.