There is a tendency to think of training those who may work in the family business instead of all those who may become shareholders. All shareholders, current and future, must be trained as responsible owners, whether they work for the company or not; and sometimes also the people who can have influence on them, such as their partners, or those who are up to date with the business who forget or park the management of the business family.
The fields of training for responsible owners are in values, company, business and business family. Values are important for making critical decisions, such as a major crisis, disruption or takeover bid. They are mainly learned in the family, during childhood. Business training can be acquired in business schools, and typical syllabus could be business model, strategic plan, accounting, finance, people, skills… Business training refers to specifics of the business itself family, and is acquired from the same company, suppliers, competitors, customers, other sectors with a similar business model even if the product is different. In business family training, the aim is for the members of the business family to learn to talk about family and company issues and to empathize with the different legitimate points of view according to generation, work in the company or not, and to get to know each other among themselves as partners, current or future.
One of the challenges is how to attract to the training those who in principle seem more disinterested in it. It is not the same to do training for businessmen who “paint their gray hairs” as for young university students. The methodology must be participatory and has already been invented. The cases, which can be printed or audiovisual, delivered in advance, and with which the participation of the attendees is encouraged, being the role of the trainer more of a moderator and guide than a teacher.
It is convenient for the continuity of the family business to pay attention to the formation of the business family.