Family agribusinesses who successfully negotiate conflict over family wealth are able to do so because they have adopted a special perspective about what they own. These thriving, multigenerational family agribusinesses live by the principle that their enterprise is not a personal possession but rather a trust given to them for safekeeping and for which they have great respect.
Put another way, these owners don't view themselves as proprietors of their businesses, but as stewards.
Of course, members of these families occasionally have their differences. But even though they may argue at times, their sense of stewardship brings them back to unity of focus and effort. It tempers proprietary interest, which typically revolves around viewpoints such as "What's in it for me?"
