Playback - Fall 2008 - (Page 17)

work in the family business, but it gets in their blood from an early age—we kind of nurture it,” says Jim D’Addario, 58. After brother John retired 10 years ago, Jim took over the reigns and with it a lot of responsibility: “It’s been quite a challenge for me. Not only do I run the company, but I also took over the mentoring of all the children.” Getting involved in the business isn’t a given; each member of the family earned a college degree before coming on board. “They all have different talents, and that’s good in that they don’t conflict and compete with each other,” D’Addario says, “but as the company gets bigger, you have to be aware of perceptions of favoritism and nepotism— that’s a big concern of ours. We have recently created a family governance committee, family constitution and bylaws, and a family business code of conduct to help with the succession from generation to generation.” To address these issues, for the past 10 years the D’Addarios have worked with family business counselors who advise the family stockholders and encourage an open dialogue, which includes monthly meetings and an annual retreat. Since many of the children received degrees in subjects outside of the business, they also receive rudimentary training on topics such as reading financial statements and understanding the performance of a company. Leadership coaching is also mandatory. “They are stewards and have to be taught proper leadership,” D’Addario says. “I’m also keen on the kids working in multiple areas of the company to understand the overall business. My brother and I had the advantage of working in the company when it was smaller and we could learn it all.” Despite the preparation for the next generation, D’Addario says there is still work to do on the company’s succession plan. “One of the potential weaknesses I see is that there is only one of the next generation who is a serious musician, my son Robert, who’s a drummer. Overall, we have a really good team in place, in terms of family and non-family members who will take over as leaders. How their responsibilities shake out will depend on their own ambitions and talents.” FALL 2008 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Playback - Fall 2008

Playback - Fall 2008 Contents From the President NAMM Events Music in the News Voices of Our Past, Present and Future: NAMM Oral History Program Celebrates a Major Milestone Commercial Retail Reps in the Field NAMM@AARP New Domestic Members Washington Watch International NAMM Foundation Music Notes Resources Viewpoint

Playback - Fall 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.