This year’s Module of the FEGIME Academy Management Programme (FAMP) in Barcelona was attended by 45 next generation entrepreneurs from 12 FEGIME countries – 11 of them took part in a FAMP for the first time. The main topics were transformation and implementation.

After an excellent FAMP in 2018 with SDA Bocconi in Milan, the model was changed this year to ensure an even higher level of customisation. For the first time a business school was not directly involved. Instead FEGIME enrolled the help of Prof. Patrick Reinmoeller as Academic Director to coordinate the week. Patrick is Professor of Strategic Management at Cranfield University and an old friend of FEGIME. The first topic – as ever – was Family Business. Participants enjoyed a highly inspiring & informative day with Prof. Stephanie Hussels, also from Cranfield University. She began with Succession Planning and Management. The task for participants was to create a “family business map” to get a clear idea of all the family assets (such as values, heritage & connections) but also the family roadblocks. That succession is such an essential topic is proven by the following statistics from UK (other countries are just the same): 70% of all family businesses have a life expectancy of 24 years, only 30% will make it into the second generation, only 13% into the 3rd generation – but a staggering 60-70% have no succession plan at all. An interesting and distinctly connected fact is that the life expectancy of a CEO at a multinational company is 4 years whereas in a family business it is 24 years. This fitted in well with the next session: Thriving in Eco-Systems by Dr Shaz Ansari from Judge Business School, Cambridge. In these times of disruptive innovation his aim was to give participants tips on how to survive, i.e. to create longevity for their businesses. In groups they were invited to look first at a gym and then at a hotel in order to come up with radical changes that could be made to “reinvent” the business model. Using the Four-Action Framework tool, the final task was to examine the various factors of the hotel business which could be “eliminated, reduced, created or raised” to design a more attractive and successful type of hotel – and consequently a new value curve. Shaz’s tip for managing disruption: balance past, present & future. There followed further excellent sessions on breakout strategy, perceived value, Change Management, Implementing Business Model Innovation and Mindful Leadership. At the end of the week everyone was left in no doubt that change is inevitable but good execution essential. Patrick’s advice: “Break out from your core business to adjacent or – better – to transformational sectors despite the risk of uncertain returns. Otherwise, you are betting the future of your company on the world never changing.” As usual during the week participants had been working in groups on a Tool to Take Home to provide them with a practical take-away from the FAMP that can be implemented immediately. In Barcelona the topic was Relationships in the Digital Age (REiDA) and – as relationships are the backbone of the success of family businesses – it is a very important one for FEGIME. At the Graduation ceremony after their impressive presentations, FEGIME President, Ricardo Gomez (FEGIME España), gave them their certificates and commented: “I am sure you have heard it said of family companies that we do not inherit the business from our parents but we borrow it from our children. Being here at the FAMP I am convinced that at FEGIME we are on the right track – into the next generation.”