This report might be a little whimsical, as that is where my thoughts are at the moment. Since my last note to you all, I have been travelling, mostly in Spain but also a little in England. It is 31 years since I was in Europe and I noticed many big changes. Mostly, it is around the effect of globalisation – we all drive the same cars, eat the same food (largely) and live very similar lives in many ways. Most of you will probably travel good deal more then me and this will not be a surprise to you, but it caused a real impression on me and made me wonder about the implications of this in the business world – particularly family businesses.

In this sector, we learn a lot from one another – we love to hear stories of how other families have done thigs, how they have managed their lives, relationships and their businesses. Testament to this is an event such as the Show & Tell held on 5 July at Kennards Hire – more than 100 members came along to hear their story and were not disappointed. Andy and Cam told their story with passion, honesty and openness that only comes from strong bonds and personal confidence.

So then – with the globalisation of the world and the fact that it is smaller every day, we could learn a lot from family businesses in other countries – and they from us as well. Yes we have amazing family businesses in Australia, and yet some countries have so much history and family businesses that have faced wars, famines and feasts and different cultural influences. What could we learn from them? Is there value in having international connections that could shine a light on some experiences from a new angle? I plan to think about this over the next few months and will look forward to hearing some of our international speakers at the National Conference with this in mind.

I hope to see you there!

Wendy Foster
NSW and ACT Manager