Studying Abroad and the Bond to the Family Business
If a young person studying abroad focuses only on studying, they can drift away from the family and the business. Spending the education years with structured communication is the way not to sit at the table as a stranger upon returning.
Transcript
Description (Instagram Reels)
When young people studying abroad focus only on academic success, it can weaken their bond with the family business.
So that they do not sit at the table like a stranger when they return, it is critically important for them to spend their education years with structured and sustainable communication.
You can follow the events we will organize for young people who want to manage this transition process with a professional perspective on our LinkedIn SPALDA® AcademyAn academy whose idea was seeded in 2018, whose pilot development began in 2022, and which launched in 2025. It develops the next generation in family businesses not merely as operational managers but as responsible leaders who grasp the whole of the corporate entity. See in glossary → account.
Tags: #OrhanErkut #FamilyBusiness #ManagementConsulting
Transcript
I get questions like: I sent my child abroad for education. Will they drift away from the family and the company? First, let us define drifting away, if you like. Drifting away means the young person being interested only in the academic program and, during this time, not taking part in any structured communication or program related to the family and the family business. Because this anyway means completing a school period without thinking at all about the family business or the family in terms of what they will do afterward, after university ends.
In short, if the young person is going only to study, they can drift away from the family and the family business. The current generation thinks of the situation a little like this. And they are not entirely wrong, actually. Let us look from the young person's perspective. When they return,
that is, when it comes to the family business and they sit at the table, will they need to understand one of the job functions the family has, for example when a subject in the finance function is discussed? If they want to understand what is discussed at that table, they have to do something while studying. And if they do not do anything while studying, they will simply accept that they will not understand what is discussed at that table.
During their university years, the young person needs to decide whether or not they will understand the subject when they sit at that table after returning. In my experience, because an undergraduate or master's student spending that period well opens up a path they will not later regret, we hold certain events in which we pass on our experience to them. These events are planned in Türkiye, in England, and in various parts of Europe. You can follow the events that will take place from the LinkedIn SPALDA® Academy page or from my profile.
Source: Instagram Reels · Posted: April 28, 2026. The media link is in the "Medya URL" field.