What are some common values for family businesses that I see leading to success? MAXIMIZERS is a convenient acronym for such principles. See Monday’s entry on “Identifying Your Values” for an introduction to this post.
Most founders are proactive—they seek out opportunities instead of waiting for it to come knocking. They make things happen. This requires a great deal of self-discipline and responsibility. The opposite of this value is victimhood, which means a person blames others for misfortunes and often makes excuses. A person may think, “I’d be a great success if it were not for my… Dad, boss, government, bad luck, etc.”
Successful successors must also acquire the value of “making things happen.” Waiting for something to happen results in things happening to you, not because of you.
