{"id":1666,"date":"2025-06-18T08:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T06:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/family-business\/?p=1666"},"modified":"2025-06-18T15:02:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T13:02:34","slug":"2nd-ief-ief-family-business-forum-reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/family-business\/2025\/2nd-ief-ief-family-business-forum-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd IESE-IEF Family Business Forum for Reflection: insights from the front lines"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 30, we welcomed nearly 200 owners and leaders<\/strong> of family-owned firms to our Barcelona campus for the 2nd annual IESE-IEF Family Business Forum for Reflection<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under the theme \u201cBuilding the Future: Key Moments in the Evolution of the Family Business,\u201d<\/strong> the event featured a roster of top-caliber speakers from diverse companies and industries, leading to highly engaging and thought-provoking sessions for everyone in attendance.<\/p>\n

Current challenges for family businesses<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

During the event, I had the honor of moderating a roundtable discussion on four main topics: corporate governance, purpose, leadership<\/strong> and culture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Among the speakers was Ignacio Rivera, president of Spain\u2019s <\/strong>Instituto de la Empresa Familiar<\/a> (Family Business Institute), who highlighted the challenges inherent in succession processes and maintaining a long-term vision, among others.<\/p>\n

To illustrate these issues, Ignacio shared his frontline experiences at the helm of Corporaci\u00f3n Hijos de Rivera<\/a>, best known as the producer of its most popular beer, Estrella Galicia.<\/p>\n

His comments really resonated with me<\/strong>, which is why I\u2019ve decided to dedicate this post to some of the insights he explored.<\/p>\n

Leading with purpose<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Ignacio shared the motto known and lived by everyone connected to Estrella Galicia\u2013\u201cto be the most beloved big craft brewery in the world while generating a positive impact<\/strong>\u201d\u2013which struck me as an excellent example of a corporate purpose.<\/p>\n

In my view, a company\u2019s purpose represents its why<\/em><\/strong>, its reason for being, that the entire organization should know and embrace through a threefold alignment:<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> \u00a0Connection between emotions and thoughts<\/strong> > feeling what they think and thinking what they feel;
\n(2)<\/strong> \u00a0Connection between emotions and actions <\/strong>> feeling what they do and doing what they feel; and
\n(3)<\/strong> \u00a0Intentiality <\/strong>> doing what they think and thinking about what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

It may sound simple, but embedding this triangle<\/strong> within an organization is not straightforward.<\/p>\n

Purpose as a beacon and source of inspiration<\/span> <\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the case of Estrella Galicia, Ignacio explained the three essential components<\/strong> of the firm\u2019s corporate purpose and how it reflects its long-term vision.<\/p>\n

First, its mention of being a \u201cbig craft\u201d<\/strong> brewery refers to the company\u2019s artisanal heritage<\/strong> and resistance to standardization. Second, it underlines the firm\u2019s aim to be \u201cthe most beloved\u201d beer\u2013not the most sold<\/strong>\u2013in order to preserve its founding values.<\/p>\n

Finally, its purpose points toward the need to make a \u201cpositive impact\u201d by creating value and distributing wealth <\/strong>among its stakeholders and communities of operation.<\/p>\n

In my view, creating value beyond the bottom line<\/strong> is critical in today\u2019s business environment. Companies no longer focus exclusively on generating shareholder value.<\/p>\n

Rather, they should aspire to generate stakeholder value by creating wealth<\/strong>, only a portion of which will go to shareholders\u2013and not necessarily the largest portion in quantitative terms.<\/p>\n

The value of humility<\/span> <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ignacio also underscored the importance of values<\/strong>, particularly the value of humility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Etymologically, the word \u201chumility\u201d comes from \u201chumus\u201d<\/strong>, which can be translated as \u201cthe ground we walk on.\u201d In other words, it\u2019s about keeping our feet planted firmly on the ground <\/strong>and having a rooted awareness of our surroundings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Years back, we published a study on importance of values in family businesses<\/a> from the Chair of Family-Owned Business which classified humility as a \u201cvirtue-based behavioral values.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Our research included empirical based on a rigorous analysis of 100 family businesses<\/a>. Within the category of virtue-based values, we identified integrity, respect, humility<\/strong>, generosity<\/strong>, honesty<\/strong>, justice <\/strong>and ethical behavior<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From my perspective, this is the crux of the matter: leadership guided by virtues<\/strong>, which serves as a compass for so many family-controlled companies around the world.<\/p>\n

My sincere thanks to Ignacio Rivera<\/strong> and the other outstanding speakers for reminding us of the central role of values in the world of family business.<\/p>\n

Photo by Pablo Arroyo<\/a> on <\/em>Unsplash<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 30, we welcomed nearly 200 owners and leaders of family-owned firms to our Barcelona campus for the 2nd annual IESE-IEF Family Business Forum for Reflection. Under the theme \u201cBuilding the Future: Key Moments in the Evolution of the Family Business,\u201d the event featured a roster of top-caliber speakers from diverse companies and industries, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":1698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[981],"tags":[119669,119724,111747],"class_list":["post-1666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","tag-event","tag-forum-for-reflection","tag-ief","megacategoria-mc-family-business"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t