NextGens go for ‘solvitur ambulando’
The process
FBUK sits down with Sophie Ashburton to hear about a new FBUK NextGen Retreat While it’s well known that having a well-articulated organisational purpose benefits businesses, it’s becoming clearer that exploring your personal purpose can be just as useful. That’s a core tenet behind a new NextGen retreat programme, ‘Putting Personal Purpose in your Plan’ being offered to FBUK Members from March 2025. The program includes a set-up meeting, a small amount of prep work, a 24-hour residential retreat at the fantastic Grange Estate in Hampshire, and a follow-up one-on-one individual coaching session. The retreat will take participants on a journey designed to help them understand their own personal purpose, how it fits with the family business and what they might do, career wise, to make the most of it. So often, people come into their family business as a result of some urgent need, without having the space to think things through and have the right conversations, says Sophie. Sometimes there’s a lack of clarity about their role. Or they’re thrust into a promotion and suffer from imposter syndrome. All that means that people can lose their way. There are many compelling reasons to stop and step back, then consciously confirm or change your path. That’s what the programme and retreat is all about.
A similar methodology and approach was used by Sophie for the FBUK NextGen retreat in 2024, and because it was so well received, FBUK asked Sophie and team to do it again… this time only bigger. Sophie is clear that participants shouldn’t expect everything to happen overnight. “Self-discovery and growth is a process”, she says. As well as the programme itself, participants are encouraged to connect with and support one another throughout the programme. And as we’ve already seen, those connections continue well after the programme and retreat are finished. So, it’s also a fantastic opportunity for NextGens to expand and build their own personal and professional networks.
Sophie Ashburton Director, The Grange
Benefits
The Grange Hampshire experience
Participants can expect to come away from the experience with: l Greater clarity about both their personal purpose and that of their own family business brand l Confidence about the value they can add and the impact they want to have in their family business, and the wider world l An understanding of the conversations they want to have with their family and business, and a plan in place on how to go about having those discussion l New relationships and a wider network with others experiencing a similar journey Clearly, a journey like this isn’t to be taken lightly. “You need to be prepared to tackle some big questions”, Sophie says. “Be prepared to make changes that dial up your strengths, as opposed to just fitting into what other people see for you.”
Holding the workshop at the Grange Estate, situated in a biodiverse landscape with both open views and private spaces, is very much a part of the experience. Participants can expect to do plenty of walking and talking, or “solvitur ambulando” (Latin for “it’s solved by walking”), an approach that opens-up the subconscious and liberates ideas.
Who it’s for?
“NextGen is a state of mind, not an age group” Sophie explains. “This workshop is for anybody who is a NextGen thinking of joining a family business or is already in it and about to enter a time of change.” The workshop is open to a maximum of 16 people. To apply, go to familybusinessuk.org/event-category/ community
Solvitur Ambulando!
30
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online