"I've been asking all of these multi-generational owners essentially the same questions: What is it? Why are you still here? What keeps this business alive? One owner paused, reflected, and said simply: 'We respect our ancestors.' That struck me. Growing up in America, most of us don't have a deep connection to our ancestors. I know only fragments of my own family history - my great-grandparents left Romania and Russia"
"because times were hard, and they came to the U.S. That's the extent of it. Much of that history feels forgotten. And when history is forgotten, respect for it fades. Unless you grow up in a traditional household that actively honors the family line, ancestors rarely enter our daily consciousness. In Japan, the culture feels very different - especially in fami"
Centuries-old firms like London's Lloyd's and Lock & Co., Italy's Riva, Beretta, and Giusti, and Japan's Tsuen Tea and Hōshi Ryokan demonstrate that long-term resilience combines reverence for tradition with slow, deliberate evolution. Multi-generational ownership often centers on respect for ancestors, deep employee and community trust, and institutional memory that preserves purpose and craft. Sustainable adaptation, rather than rapid change, protects reputational capital and operational continuity through shocks. These practices translate into enduring stakeholder loyalty and provide actionable principles for investors and managers seeking durable, intergenerational value.
Read at Big Think
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