In February 2005, Roundtable Members were asked to provide feedback regarding their Roundtable experience in order to assist the Roundtable Committee in providing the continued value and resources required to benefit groups in the future. We thought you might be interested to see the results, and discover what Roundtable Members are saying:

Q: What was your main objective for joining a Roundtable?

• Network in the community of family business owners and to learn more about the community that I live in.
• Gain experience and knowledge about family businesses, mainly as an on going support tool.
• To get to the core of first generation issues with succession.
• To expand my business knowledge through talking with members.
• To have the opportunity to meet with a group of 7-10 other family business members to discuss business issues (management and ownership) and receive / provide valuable feedback to help resolve those issues.
• To father some best practices to assist in my business.
• To join a group of people that share similar situations, problems, and to brainstorm and talk about these issues in a safe and confidential setting.
• Meet with other second-generation family business people to discuss problems/success in business/life.
• To ease my trembling mind with regards to my kids taking over the business.
• Assist in refining my skills, help relate and be involved with a support group.
• Use as a mentoring program and discuss family business issues with peers.

Q: Describe your overall Roundtable experience:

• The Roundtable experience has been excellent. It was great to meet people of like situations who can share some of their ideas.
• We offer feedback to each other for business and personal issues. Essentially we are no longer a Roundtable, we are a group of friends who get together once a month to talk very openly about the issues in our lives.
• I have definitely received value from participating. I believe I have been given sufficient opportunities to present my issues of concern and I have contributed values to other member's issues. We have come to trust each other deeply in a short period of time.
• Very positive. Have met some great people, open to sharing experience and concerns. Great support system - to be able to talk openly.
• It is nice to share experiences with people in the same circumstances as myself. The friendships I have made is an added bonus. What a great group of people.
• Very helpful. It's a safe setting where you can talk about ideas or problems that you may not be able to with anyone in your family. Fun setting, it's nice to relate to others in similar situations and see that we have many of the same issues and problems with work and family.
• Have met and made contact with individuals with similar circumstances and experiences in a family business environment. Completed exercises to identify personal communication and managerial tendencies to identify how I interact with others.
• Excellent! After 2 years they are good friends first, business associates later. Great way to share your day-to-day family business experiences with others who have been there!
• Pleased with group dynamics, people bring relevant issues to discuss. Format of meeting monthly gives me a chance to discuss business issues away from 'business.' Very enjoyable.
• I have listened to some incredible stories of founding family businesses and its effect on some families.