The Family Business
As you know, I have a lot of radio conversations with those involved in multi-generation, family-operated businesses…both for KXEL and for my Iowa Business Report program.
We all know of folks in the second, third or fourth generation who took the reins and grew the family business to be even stronger and more successful. We probably also know of folks who drove things in the ditch, and business never reached its full potential…perhaps not surviving at all.
I thought about this a bit when the news came yesterday that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain had passed away at age 96, after more than 70 years in the job. Succession led to her oldest son, Charles, taking over as monarch.
Like many of you, I did not live through any time when Elizabeth was not queen…and for decades, literally, there has been speculation regarding at what point she might turn over the monarchy to her son, the king-in-waiting. That also led to jokes about Charles just not being ready to take over yet, much as we’d say about a local family business whose owner just won’t retire.
Forgotten, since so many of us know of the mature Elizabeth, is that she inherited the family business herself when her father, George VI, died somewhat unexpectedly after a long battle with cancer. She was only 25 at the time…quite a stark contrast to today’s situation, when the freshly minted new king is about to turn 74.
The role of a British monarch is far more ceremonial than political, far more of an image and persona than a job. But that family business continues, now with Charles and later William…each hoping to add their own mark…no different than the multi-generation family business you patronize on an Iowa main street.
