Activity Report

2018
“The capacity to learn is a gift.
The ability to learn is a skill.
The willingness to learn is a choice.”
— Brian Herbert

Address Website Telephone

3 Place Ville Marie, Office 12350 www.businessfamilies.org +1 514-673-0120
Montreal, QC H3B 0E7
President’s Message Contents
Dear friends,
2 President’s Message
In 2018, BFF completed an intense strategic process — a total rethink of how we help
enterprising families globally, and a fortifying of our purpose, our values, and our impact.

Major initiatives include Family Forward, our emerging assessment tool to help enterprising 4 Learning Community & Online Content
families discover where they may benefit from new learning strategies.

We’re more inclusive. BFF helped create the Canadian chapter of the International Family
Business Network and partnered with Family Enterprise Xchange to deliver the Family 6 Intrapreneurial Initiative
Matters Forum.

The launch of our RBC-commissioned Ownership Series will empower entrepreneurial

families as they face growth and navigate transitions to multi-generational ownership. 7 Partnerships
Finally, under the guidance of our reinvigorated board, composed of family couples
spanning three continents, we’re eager to implement our ambitious, qualitative-driven plan
as we look to a brighter future. 8 Governance

9 Looking into 2019

Olivier de Richoufftz
President, Business Families Foundation

Our Content Priorities moving forward

Our Innoweave process has helped us reflect on
our past, present and future.
For the past five years, BFF has primarily favored online
learning, powered by our own custom-built platform.
During that period, we have launched new initiatives:
the Intrapreneurial Initiative (aimed at families seeking
alternatives to traditional succession) and the Women in
Enterprising Families Initiative (WEFI). We have also organized
the annual Family Matters Forum to unite families who share
concerns for sustainability and the triple bottom line.
Our renewed strategic focus will include more
blended‑learning options delivered through a network
of delivery partners who will facilitate half-, single- or
multi-day workshops that build on the pre-work of online
learning. Participants will progress along personal/family
learning journeys, which contribute to the development of
a learning culture within enterprising families, encouraged
by family learning champions who keep coming back to our
educational programming.
Enterprising families will become more resilient, Entrepreneurial families
empowered and engaged.
are already thinking of
Our primary audiences are enterprising families and learning
champions who are family members or their trusted advisors, their grandchildren and
and who actively lead learning development across the family
business system. future generations that are not yet
Our target audiences will embed a learning culture in their
families, which will increase their ability to tackle the complex
born. As the current generation we
issues of enterprising families with resilience and purpose. may never get to meet them but we
We will develop more educational programs that convey the
wisdom and experience of enterprising families from around still want the best for them and to pass
the world. Blended learning will be our main focus (60%),
followed by online learning (20%) and immersive learning
on something better than we ourselves
(20%). Blended-learning programs will largely be delivered
by partners serving families in business (e.g., Family Business
have been fortunate to receive.”
Centers, FEX, FBN, YPO) rather than by BFF directly.
Margaret-Jean Mannix & Alex Adelaar
Co-chairs, Business Families Foundation

2 BFF Activity Report 2018  | 3

Learning Community & Online Content
Lifelong learning: the new standard
Learning is not confined to childhood or the classroom — it takes place throughout life in a range of situations. Shrewd individuals
know this. They’re lifelong learners. It’s a way of life, an ongoing, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. For entrepreneurial
forward‑thinkers, lifelong learning is a means to stay competitive. More importantly, it’s a powerful way to grow.
8,272
regular BFF users
BFF continued its push to locate and film the most relevant family enterprise experts on the planet. In doing so, we expanded our
catalogue by 50 new videos on hot topics such as communication and conflict resolution, as well as videos geared towards our
Intrapreneurial Initiative. We continue to shed light on good governance through Safe Space: Governance in Action, a 15-minute
module based on the namesake book. BFF also launched Discovering Family Ownership in collaboration with RBC, an online course
tailored to current and future family business owners. The goal of the series is to help entrepreneurial families prepare for a future of
multi-generational ownership, growth and transition, all while maintaining a harmonious family dynamic.

Family Forward Assessment

2,000+ 4,604
followers on BFF Facebook website visits North America
Family Forward is an online assessment tool that targets multigenerational business families — from small‑ and
medium‑sized enterprises to multinational companies.

Family Forward helps enterprising families identify areas where their current knowledge may benefit from a deep
strengthening of learning strategies. Family Forward enables families to identify where and why they should allocate
resources towards training of both next-generation and current-generation family members. The tool enables users FEX Symposium (Family Matters Forum) Sept 2018, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
to identify learning champions — individuals who can commit a family to a culturally-embedded mindset of ongoing
learning — with a view to a long-term thriving of the family enterprise.

Family Forward accelerates the discovery of strategic methods that transmit this engagement and commitment across
generations. The assessment tool allows families to embed a learning culture within their ranks, regardless of where they sit
on the learning continuum.
~200 90%+
attendees, of both of attendees being pleased with venue
families and advisors and general length of the programming
Content planning for 2019, and development of BFF’s:

Family Forward The creation of A 3-module series on The completion of the

assessment tool,
which will help families
identify strategic
learning areas,
intensified in the
second half of 2019
facilitation guides for
BFF’s “Big 5” Collection
of courses is wrapping
up, with the three
facilitation guide
already completed
active philanthropy series on Financial
Management for the
Next Generation
BFF has contributed to the The collaboration on the
creation of FBN Canada Families Summit of Minds with
the Monthly Barometer, in
Quebec’s Charlevoix-region

4 BFF Activity Report 2018  |  5

Intrapreneurial Partnerships
Initiative The Intrapreneurial Initiative is enhanced by partnerships. Our latest alliance with Ontario’s League of Intrapreneurs brought BFF
intrapreneurs and families together with the League in June. The establishment of metrics and project assessments is ongoing with
Deloitte, while discussions with University of Montreal’s HEC foresee the academic institution playing a role in the Intrapreneurial
We bring together cohorts of intrapreneur-mentor pairs who are Program in 2019. Meanwhile, exploratory conversations with families and academic institutions are underway in Calgary with a view
challenged to create a fresh intrapreneurial project by the end of the to developing intrapreneurship champions in western Canada and internationally with SMU and Monterrey Tech.
program. They are assisted by 36 hours of coaching and consulting,
five in-person workshops, exclusive discussions with experienced
intrapreneurs, and access to personalized online resources. All this
is supported by webinars, ideation workshops, and a masterclass to
provide insights into what it takes to succeed at intrapreneurship.

Number of projects/developments
All 40 participants recognized that their “entrepreneurial fibre”
was unveiled and that they acquired new competencies after the
program. Most felt their understanding of their core businesses
had increased tremendously. In terms of initial rounds of capital,
a majority of participants have decided to self-fund their ventures.
Fewer have opted for family financing. Some 5% have chosen
Another Successful Case Story
venture capital markets. Families and their core businesses
proved to be invaluable as knowledge-sharing resources and
as access points to networks, as well as useful sources of staff, Social media and the multiplication of digital platforms
materials and financing. have changed the way youth learn, play and interact.
Dis-Moi’s objective is to break the youth’s isolation and
build a bridge to resources already available by opening
a discussion on mental health and wellness, using the new
communications channels.
The majority of mentors have acted as stewards, empowering rather than controlling their intrapreneurs, while nudging them
The creation of the Dis-Moi organization, is the result of
towards sound decision-making. The notion of stakeholders’ value creation remains at an early stage: only 15% of projects rely on
many individuals and organizations coming together
external partnerships to grow their “smart-up”. At present, we can identify four types of ventures:
following the death of Alexandre Taillefer’s son and the
broadcasting of the documentary BYE! to take concrete
action to prevent suicide of young people aged 12 to 18.

Dis-Moi developed a chatbot, surveying student’s daily

mood, and with regular interactions guiding them, when
needed to the appropriate professional whether in school, or
A venture fully integrated A subsidiary of the A spin-off that taps into A complete other resources.
into the core business core business core business resources spin-off
They also developed an exchange platform (new social
media) for youth to anonymously discuss issues and be
We have been working closely with two intrapreneur-mentor duos in Ontario to validate the concept and adapt it to the market. supported by their peers and professionals on the same
platform. Dis-Moi is working with influencers to reach out to
Based on the proven success of the program in 2016–18, the aim is to extend the Intrapreneurial Initiative across and beyond
youths across the Quebec province.
Canada. We also want to build the momentum of the intrapreneurial movement so that it becomes a widely accepted alternative to
traditional succession planning.

6 BFF Activity Report 2018  |  7

Governance Looking into 2019
A fresh look is underway for BFF’s portal. We have developed six strategies to guide us and eight themes that act as pillars for our
content, to be strategically sorted on our website and to ease viewing and understanding.

Exploring Inter-
Generational Purpose
offers solutions to the
problems transitioning
family enterprises face as
they chart their destinies.
Addressing
Building Family Strategy
Communication
offers families the tools
delivers resources to navigate
to manage and lead their
conflict through effective
firms’ strategic directions.
communication tools.

Organizing
Family Ecosystem Growing Leadership
helps families manage enables the creation of
complexity and focus responsible leaders.
on their business.

Professionalizing Improving Impact

Fostering Intrapreneurship
Ownership puts entrepreneurial
helps families transform ideas
sets out blueprints for families on paths to good
into profitable ventures.
strengthening internal control. corporate citizenship.

BFF believes in equal gender representation and is governed by spouses of entrepreneurial families. Currently, the board members
represent three continents and 6 countries. Up to eight families can be represented on the board, elected for three years among
These themes dovetail with six key objectives. Our foremost goal is to offer high quality educational programs that can scale up,
members promoting a next-gen culture. Co-chairs are elected among members.
and we aim to be an active partner in the delivery of world-class courses that confirm BFF as a leading thought-leader for family
Board members are divided into working clusters with mandates that cover governance, finance, strategy, distribution, and enterprises. Additionally, we aim to provide ground-breaking measurement and benchmarking tools, as a means to deliver insights
partnerships and programming. that have value. Crucially, these goals fall under our overarching objective of prudent financial discipline and sustainability.

8 BFF Activity Report 2018  |  9

Content driven plan
As part of our content-driven editorial plan,
no fewer than 22 thought-provoking blogs,
spanning 11 themes, will grace our reinvigorated
web pages in 2019. BFF’s latest course, Active
Philanthropy, launches in 2019 and our Financial
Management course will follow. Meanwhile, we
continue to mine our repository of video case
studies with a view to developing new courses
and new learning paths for family enterprises.
Business Families Foundation, in collaboration
with the charitable platform Beyond
Philanthropy, are building an online course on
the topic of Engaged Philanthropy and Impact
Investing, aimed at business families who are
dedicated to using their knowledge, resources
and desire to create an impact and make a
difference within their communities, countries
and around the world.
We will be completing our Financial
Management for the Next Generation online
course in 2019. Following up on the success of
our Introduction and Unit 1 pilot, the remaining
units will be developed in the same vein.
10
The launch of BFF Live, in
which family firm luminaries
deliver nuggets of wisdom
live from their offices, will
turn the webinar format on its
head through its ultra-concise
interactive format. Launching in
February, BFF Live will engage and enthrall.
Finally, BFF’s Family Forward assessment
tool, which will help families identify
learning champions and commit families to
culturally‑embedded mindsets of ongoing
learning, is steadily approaching its initial
launch phase of mid‑2019.
In our ongoing efforts to guide family businesses
through our diverse range of online content, we
are building 8 learning paths, each related to
one of our new themes, as a starting point for all
family business members. These learning paths
will combine BFF media (interviews, voiceovers,
etc.) with reflective and thought-provoking
questions. Each theme will be put into the proper
context, including key messages, as well as
provide suggestions for family exercises around
each theme.
BFF Live Webinar Launch
Immersive experiences
Club F
Toronto, March 21–22, 2019
The Club F event Philanthropy in Our Evolving World: Sources
and Uses of Social Capital is a peer-to-peer community event
run by and for donors who want their family philanthropy to
have impact, meaning and enjoyment.
Families Summit of Minds
Charlevoix, November 15–17, 2019
Uniting thought-leaders from enterprising families to act
nimbly on their futures has long formed the DNA of Business
Families Foundation. Simultaneously, Monthly Barometer’s
Summit of Minds has drawn exceptional thought-leaders to
the French resort of Chamonix to tackle global issues through
frank, open discussion.
In this new rendering, the Families Summit of Minds (a natural
progression of BFF’s Family Matters Forum, where debate is
vigorous) makes its North American debut.
The Families Summit of the Minds comprises three content
themes: (1) family enterprise issues, (2) macroeconomic and
geopolitical issues, and (3) well-being issues and solutions.
The Summit:
• Combines high-level content with experiential learning and
well-being activities.
• Connects like-minded individuals: enterprising families and
thought-leaders.
• Draws on common wisdom and solution-driven ideas.
Charlevoix
BFF Activity Report 2018  |  11
 Address Website Telephone
3 Place Ville Marie, Office 12350 www.businessfamilies.org +1 514-673-0120
Montreal, QC H3B 0E7