FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS: Philippe et Nan-b de Gaspe Beaubien Since its inception in 1993, the Business Families Foundation has been true to its mission of offering business families and the professionals who serve them the education and support they need to better understand their issues and face their challenges. Our main objective has always been to provide hope and encouragement to members of business families. For the past decade we have worked to contribute to the field of family business not only in Canada but around the globe. We were assisted by a team of qualified and dedicated specialists in the field who with our encouragement used their creative skills to fulfil a need to develop educational material for business families. Throughout this decade hundreds of business families and their allied professionals have directly attended our workshops; others have followed our programs through our affiliates. Top WHAT WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY No matter where we travelled in the world during those many years it became evident that: The issues faced by families in business are always the same; the way they solve them depends upon culture, tradition, and values. Conflicts are normal in families who work together; the key is learning how to manage them. And most importantly, there are practices that when put in place can help families endure in harmony over time. When we established the Business Families Foundation, we combined all the insight that we had acquired from the families and experts we had encountered. We applied this diverse knowledge and created an educational forum where business families could develop the skills and processes they would need to successfully transfer their company from one generation to the next - a working model if you will, that would enable families to find the resolution that is right for them - while preserving the family unit and its unique vision for generations to come. Top FROM NOW ON The Foundation has reached a crossroad and is now looking toward its future. We strongly believe that to ensure the continuity of our mission we must encourage Canadian universities to embark on this important endeavour which is to support and encourage business families. To that end the Foundation is now working closely with major Canadian universities to help them create International Business Centers that will offer different services to business family members and to the professionals who work with them. As universities develop the needed expertise, they will be able to offer ongoing programs tailored to meet the specific needs of the families within their communities. The Foundation will continue working through affiliate universities with whom we are collaborating very closely. These efforts will be the main focus for the next phase of the Business Families Foundation. We hope to reach a level of success that will ensure the continuity of our work thereby enabling business families to address their critical issues and to help them survive for many generations. Top © 1999 Business Families Foundation. All rights reserved.