Season 2, Episode 6 of the Family IN Business Podcast
It was a routine activity that led to a life-threatening accident, a coma, and multiple cranial surgeries. Adam Farver, Chairman of the Board and fourth generation of his family enterprise, Pella Corporation, found himself eavesdropping on doctors who doubted his full recovery. Faced with frightening questions about his future, Adam took stock of his life before the accident, consulting his late great-grandfather and grandmother’s wisdom: what would he do now?
Listen as Adam tells the story of his realizations, recovery, and resetting his purpose. We are also joined by experts Dave Whorton and Jennifer Pendergast discussing how family enterprises can—and should—intentionally find their purpose to steel themselves from crisis.
Show Notes:
Theme: Finding a new purpose during crisis
Your host:
Esther Choy, President and Chief Story Facilitator of Leadership Story Lab, author of Let the Story Do the Work (AMACOM)
Special thanks to:
Adam Farver, Chairman of the Board, Pella Corporation
Dave Whorton, CEO and Founder, The Tugboat Group
Jennifer Pendergast, Executive Director of John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
Contact us: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.edu
Key Moments:
2:30 – Who is Adam?
5:12 – A medical crisis threatens Adam’s life—in more ways than one
8:30 – Pella’s powerful purpose comes into play
10:21 – Happiness is a choice, love is a verb, and family is everything
13:07 – A hard reset
16:00 – A new purpose in three words
17:04 – Gratitude
18:03 – Grace
19:40 – Gumption
20:37 – How to reflect your way to purpose, with Dave Whorton
25:34 – Why Adam wrote himself letters
26:50 – How family enterprises can prepare for unforeseen crisis, with Jennifer Pendergast
30:45 – Recovery is not a miracle
Download “A Hard Reset on Purpose for Family Business: Adam Farver of Pella Corporation” Transcript-Adam-Farver-S2-Final.pdf – Downloaded 1560 times – 133.03 KB
Next Episode: 7. Leading Through Purpose: Aligning Stakeholders Around Sustainability with Anderson Tanoto
Better Every Story
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People forget facts, but they never forget a good story. In her book, Esther Choy shares business storytelling methods, examples and practical tools and templates. It’s your essential leadership storytelling toolkit.
People forget facts, but they never forget a good story. In her book, Esther Choy shares business storytelling methods, examples and practical tools and templates. It’s your essential leadership storytelling toolkit.
