My father was my boss for seven years.
In 2021, he retired.
He has not been back since.
My grandfather founded this company. My dad's job was to hold it steady and hand it off intact and then get out of the way.
Three things I learned from reporting to him:
1. The bar was higher, not lower.
He never made it easier because of my last name. Entitlement is the fastest way to erode what someone else spent a lifetime building. He made sure I knew that early.
2. The curriculum was the job itself.
I didn't learn to underwrite a deal from a textbook. I learned by being in the room when it was hard. You cannot teach judgment. You can only put someone in situations that require it.
3. The hardest skill in a family business is knowing your role.
He didn't try to make the company his. He stewarded it, kept it healthy, kept it values-driven, and handed the keys to my sister Kelly Chang Levine and me when the time came. No second-guessing. No hovering.
Most people want to leave a mark. He wanted to leave a company.
Those are different goals. His version is harder.
Now he gets to be my fishing buddy. Check out our first over 100 pound fish from a few years ago, making memories like this is what family is all about!
What's the most underrated role in a family business... the founder, the steward, or the one who has to take it somewhere new?
