Well, we have had a very interesting week in several ways.
The highlight was our son and daughter-in-law formally taking American citizenship. They have lived in the USA for a number of years and have two children who were born in the USA (cue for a song from Bruce Springsteen) so it was a logical next step.
We were lucky enough as a family to be able to watch the ceremony live-streamed through Youtube and it was fascinating.
Held in the judge’s court within a state courthouse they have only recently gone back to face to meetings and the place was full. Part of the ceremony by the judge was to call out the number of countries the attendees were from and in this case, there were thirty-five countries represented from around the globe.
This in itself was fascinating but then the judge related the story of his lineage. His great-grandparents came from Europe in 1882, purchased land, and set up a home. Subsequent generations settled in the surrounding area, and it was so interesting to hear the high regard he had for his ancestors and family members.
This included showing his great-grandfather's citizenship certificate. The same one as the attendees were going to receive at the end of the ceremony.
Listening to his story and the words of the ceremony it made me realise why the Americans set so much store in their heritage, because in many ways it is so recent and as he said, “we are a land of immigrants brought together in one new country”.
So not only am I personally grateful (as we all are as a family) to see our son and family moving on with their lives, but I am also most grateful for the opportunity to have a true insight to the way ordinary American citizens feel about their country and those working within it.
What’s the point, Peter?
On several occasions in my missives such as this and the many presentations I have given, I have extolled the virtues of making the most of the history of our family businesses. So often in the UK, we tend to apologise for it instead of shouting it from the rooftops.
Again and again, surveys show that in general, we will trust a family business more because of the values of the business yet we seem so often to down play it.
Perhaps it’s because of our much longer history, or perhaps British conservatism, that we are reticent to show how strongly we feel about something – in this case a family business.
Let’s tell the world we are a family business don’t you think?
…I would love to hear more about how you highlight or are going to extol the benefits of, being a family business to your clients.
If you need a hand, you know where we are!
Just say'in...
Until the next time...
