How to Build a Family Business That Lasts Beyond You | Temitope Runsewe | TEDxPAU
The speaker argues that family businesses are crucial for building lasting economies in Africa because they provide a commitment beyond profit. He notes that African culture's strong emphasis on community and family values must be consciously translated into modern business structures. Success requires early family involvement, open communication, and a willingness to pass the vision to the next generation, as demonstrated by his own transition from JP Morgan to running Dum Construction.
## Speakers & Context
- **T** (the speaker):
- Is in his second generation as the leader of the family business, Dum Construction.
- Celebrated his 41st birthday on the day before the talk.
- His personal journey involved resigning from a promotion at JP Morgan in London in January 2019 to return to Nigeria and dedicate the last 15 years to the family business.
- His stated goal for the talk is to discuss building a family business that lasts beyond the founder.
## Theses & Positions
- Family businesses have the potential for commitment that extends beyond mere profit or money.
- A business driven only by money is unlikely to endure; a more fundamental driver is required.
- Translating inherent African/Nigerian communal and family values into business values is key to building enduring enterprises.
- The structure of a family business facilitates long-term stability and growth by embedding deeply held shared vision and values.
- Sustainability requires a successor, as no founder can live forever, meaning current leaders must be willing to pass the vision on.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Family Business:** A core element for building enduring economies in Africa, utilizing inherent family commitment and values.
- **Socioeconomic conditions:** Enhanced by the design and construction of purpose-built infrastructure, which is a focus for the company's mission.
- **Communal Nature:** The natural inclination of Nigerians and Africans, which needs to be translated into formal business practices.
- **Founding:** Not a mandatory role; one can own the vision and mission without being the founder.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Building a Legacy:** Requires actively passing the business to the next generation, ensuring continuity for a hundred years and beyond.
- **Early Involvement:** A crucial step in sustainability; the speaker was drawn to the business through site visits with his father.
- **Training and Mentorship:** This process is not strictly formal (like classes) but happens daily through osmosis—observing and learning from the founder's actions in meetings and daily work.
- **Economic Recovery Method:** The proposed way forward is to take the core family values and translate them into specific *African business procedures*, drawing on institutions like Lagos Business School.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **1989:** Dum Construction's very first Certificate of Incorporation; registered with a stamp duty of 135 naira.
- **1989:** The first project built was a petrol station in Ion.
- **1989–2009:** Initial growth phase before the speaker's direct involvement.
- **2009:** The speaker joined the company.
- **2010:** Attended a Harvard Family Business course with his parents and brother, formalizing the focus on training.
- **2009–Present:** Growth from operating in only the six states in the southwest of Nigeria to constructing projects in 26 states of Nigeria.
- **Recent:** Construction of a 20-story building in Banana Island in Lekki.
- **Future Goal:** To see Dum Construction become a 100-year-old company.
## Named Entities
- **Dum Construction:** The speaker's family business.
- **JP Morgan:** Previous employer in London.
- **Nigeria:** The primary location for the business operations and focus of economic development.
- **London:** Location of the speaker's previous employment.
- **Lagos Business School (LBS):** Suggested institution for formalizing the transfer of knowledge.
- **Exxon Mobile:** The company associated with the father's prior employment, leading to the first project.
- **Banana Island in Lekki:** Location of a recent, large-scale construction project (20-story building).
- **Sirius/Sisters:** Mentioned as part of the family unit being prepared for the future (daughter and son).
## Numbers & Data
- **Age:** Speaker's 41st birthday occurred the day before the talk.
- **Company Anniversary:** Dum Construction was at its 35th-anniversary that day.
- **Incorporation Year:** **1989**.
- **Initial Registration Cost:** **135 naira** (stamp duty).
- **Initial Location:** Operating in the six states in the southwest of Nigeria.
- **Current Reach (as of today):** Successfully constructed in **26 states** of Nigeria.
- **Business Longevity Milestones:** Founder (implicit start), Second Generation (speaker's role), Third Generation (mentioned as statistically declining).
- **Global Statistics (Family Businesses):**
- First Generation: **100%** of companies.
- Second Generation: Reduces to **35%**.
- Third Generation: Reduces to **12%**.
- Beyond Third Generation: Reduces to **3%**.
- **Global Economic Stats:**
- Family businesses make up **70%** of global GDP.
- Family businesses account for **60%** of employment.
## Examples & Cases
- **The Personal Turning Point:** Resigning from a promotion at JP Morgan to return to Nigeria for the family business, stating it was "not about money."
- **The Initial Project:** The first construction work in 1989 was a petrol station in Ion, due to the father's work with Exxon Mobile.
- **The Core Problem:** The speaker notes the gap between global statistics and the potential of Nigerian/African families to sustain businesses.
- **The Emotional Driver:** A story illustrating the necessity of work: the speaker calculating salaries in his sleep, causing his daughter to point out that he hadn't slept because he was calculating, showing the work is driven by something *beyond* money.
- **Physical Growth:** The evolution from building petrol stations (1989) to projects in various states, culminating in a modern 20-story building on Banana Island.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Infrastructure:** General term for constructed elements (e.g., petrol stations, multi-story buildings) that enhance socioeconomic conditions.
- **Certificate of Incorporation:** The official document confirming the business's legal start in 1989.
## References Cited
- **Harvard Family Business Course:** Attended in 2010 for formal learning on training and mentorship.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Personal Career vs. Family Business:** Choosing the family enterprise over a high-paying career in London (JP Morgan) demonstrates the trade-off of financial gain for purpose.
- **Formal vs. Informal Learning:** Formal learning (Harvard course) is compared to the daily, osmotic learning that occurs on site with the founder.
## Methodology
- **Observation and Immersion:** The speaker's early learning method involved following his father to sites ("I used to go with him to site").
- **Communication:** Emphasizes open communication, which is necessary for mentorship and passing down knowledge.
- **Business Strategy:** The overall strategy is to preserve family values to build a business that outlasts its founders.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The path to building a lasting family business involves deeply integrating inherent family values into core business practices.
- Future efforts should focus on translating these values into specific *African* business models, not just general global ones.
- The ultimate goal is for the business to transcend the current generation, continuing for 100 years and beyond.
## Implications & Consequences
- If the current trajectory of family businesses continues globally, the vast majority of companies will fail or become non-existent beyond the second generation.
- The commitment shown by the speaker—returning from a high-paying job to reinvest in the family endeavor—is framed as the necessary counter-example to these failing global trends.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"My boss at the time looked at me confused asked tell me what is going on don't you like the promotion do you want more money I said no it's not about money it's time to go home"*
- *"I'm going to Nigeria and he said what are you going to do I told him you will find out what I'm going to do in the next 10 years"*
- *"what I want to do in the future was to prove that Africans can build and run transgenerational businesses"*
- *"we are not tapping into our cultural heritage because we're a very family oriented Community however we have not translated that fully into the business World"*
- *"the core of families bring brings the necessary tools that is required for a business to grow the reason for this is because family business has the potential for people to have commitment Beyond profit and Beyond money"*
- *"There's something Beyond money that is driving me something Beyond money that keeps me up at night something Beyond money that makes me work all days of the week"*
- *"I hear you doing calculations"* (Daughter to speaker)
- *"I want to take what he's doing to a different level"*
- *"How do we build sustainable family business open communication you need to be open training and mentorship and training and mentorship is inherent is is like osmosis it flows is not necessarily sitting down like a classroom"*
- *"I'm not living in Lagos I'm not living in ion where he was I moved to Abuja and I said oh let's start looking for said no no no no no just Legos I said no Chinese people cannot come to Nigeria and work in kafanchan French people cannot come to Nigeria work in myuri and we Nigerians say we're only going to work in our comfort zone ladies and gentlemen"*
- *"Nobody is going to live forever so if you're going to be a part of something that is beyond you you must at some point be willing to take on somebody else's Vision"*
- *"Why not you?"* (Implied echo of a future call to action)