Twenty One Clear August Newsletter
July podcast feedback, Milo's Tea and family meetings, Kennesaw State replay
Hey there, and welcome to the August Newsletter. It has been quite a month for Twenty One Clear!
July Podcast reviews!
The July Podcast seems to have connected with people. I finally flew solo and explained the family business framework. Here are a few responses:
“Love the rectangle within the rectangle visual…Work together to build a plan that has requirements so you can argue over the plan instead of family members’ competence…Some great nuggets in there!” - Second generation family business executive
“…[That] podcast is exactly how you think about helping people…” - Executive coach
If you missed it, clicked your preferred app’s button below and Follow.
Family business meetings - the lynchpin
Over the last few months, I have realized more and more the importance of family meetings to the health of your family business.
Great companies require great meetings.
Great family businesses also require great meetings.
Recently, Tricia Wallwork, the third-generation Chair and CEO of Milo’s Tea, gave an interesting look into their family meetings via a LinkedIn post.
Company Summary
Family owned and Birmingham, Ala based, Milo’s has taken off over the last ten years, including:
- Doubling in size 3.5 times,
- Growing from less than 50 associates to nearly 1,000, and
- Opening a fourth brewing location.
All in, 55,000 retail locations carry their products.
Inside their Family Business
Tricia opens her LinkedIn post saying, “Governance. One of the things I will be most proud of when I retire is the governance that we have built in our family business at Milo's Tea Company, Inc.”
She reveals four interesting insights into how they run their family meetings:
🌱Not the Board - Milo’s has a fiduciary board made up of 4 family shareholders and 6 non-family members. Board meetings are separate from family shareholder meetings.
🌱Quarterly family business meetings - The family shareholders meet each quarter. They meet the same week as the Board, but earlier in the week, so they, “…can keep the family stuff ‘out of the board room’; and let family shareholders be heard.”
🌱Family meeting attendees - Milo’s invites family shareholders, Tricia’s children once they reach college age and outside advisors. Outside advisors are critical to a great family meeting, and thus a healthy family business. I recorded a quick video with three reasons:
🌱 What do you work on at the meeting - The family meeting is where you work on your inner family business. Tricia shares that Milo’s has a family employment policy, which can cover how family members are hired, paid, developed, assessed and terminated and how they are to behave. Those are topics that you can create, debate and communicate through your family meeting.
If you missed her post or my write up, Click Here
Kennesaw State Follow Up
My thanks to Kennesaw State University’s Family Enterprise Center for hosting a webinar with me. I introduced the Family Business Framework and explored hiring family members (or not hiring them).
If you would like to watch the replay on YouTube, Click Here
In conclusion
As my grandfather would have said, thank you so very, very much for reading.
Adam, for 21 Clear
Glad I got a haircut before shooting that video!