Following on from last month's panel from Kennesaw State's Family Enterprise Center, Adam returns to have a conversation with Andrea Carpenter of The Transition Strategists. And this time they get practical: how to take a pulse on your life in the family company, the three questions every family member should keep asking, the headlines exercise that opened the door to Adam's own transition, and a LinkedIn story from a former CEO that shows the cost of an abrupt exit.

Episode links

• Andrea Carpenter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreakcarpenter/
• Your Next Gen Friend Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6QTytzkOKwGIEaOGRI5fec?si=fiANnFm_Sty0Ff78tgjnQA
• The Transition Strategists: https://transitionstrategists.com/

21C Links

• Twenty One Clear website: https://www.21clear.com
• Adam Hatcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhatcher
• Subscribe to the Twenty One Clear newsletter: https://21clear.substack.com/

Bumper Music
Still Hot by Nic D, Connor Price | (c) Lossless, 2023

Episode Produced By
https://snapmarket.co

Chapters
[00:00] Welcome and Recap — Following up on Episode 11's Kennesaw State panel
[02:00] My Thirteen Years and Why "General" Titles Drift
[04:30] The Two Roots: Open Dialogue and Twenty Years of Family Meetings
[07:00] If You've Never Held a Family Meeting, Start Here
[09:30] Opening the Door When You're the Next Generation
[12:00] "Build a Great Company With a Strong Family" — The Opening Line
[14:30] Andrea on Who Starts the Conversation
[17:00] The Three Questions Every Family Member Should Ask
[20:00] Engagement Isn't Automatic — Reward, Recognition, and Development
[23:00] Andrea's Objectives Matrix and Defining Your Deal Breakers
[25:30] The Headlines Exercise: How I Stepped Out of My Roles
[28:00] Pete's Story From LinkedIn — The Cost of an Abrupt Exit
[29:30] Closing — How to Keep Thinking About Your Inner Family Business

In this latest episode of the Twenty One Clear Podcast, Adam Hatcher joins a Kennesaw State University Family Enterprise Center panel hosted by Stephanie Davis. Adam's fellow panelists were Jacqueline Jensen and Leslie Oubre, both of whom left their family companies mid-career.

Together they answer three questions:

1. Was leaving a gradual or acute process?
2. What was the emotional impact?
3. And what would they do differently or tell someone else going through it?

Links from the Episode

• Please note that when the full webinar recording comes out, it will be here on KSW's YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@familyenterprisecenteratksu?si=KxGEKf77MaETtfK6
• Kennesaw State University Family Enterprise Center: https://www.kennesaw.edu/coles/centers/family-enterprise-center/index.php
• Stephanie Davis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-davis-b467b28
• Jacqueline Jensen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ja-bizcoach
• Leslie Oubre: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslieoubre

21C Links

• Twenty One Clear website: https://www.21clear.com
• Adam Hatcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhatcher
• Subscribe to the Twenty One Clear newsletter: https://21clear.substack.com/

Chapters
(00:00) Introduction
(02:30) Was leaving gradual or acute?
(08:00) Family meetings as the mechanism
(11:30) The emotional impact
(17:00) The steamroller CEO story
(20:30) Jacqueline on identity
(27:00) The three hats framework
(33:00) Leslie on admitting the truth
(37:00) Emily P. Freeman's framework
(41:30) Leslie's step-by-step approach
(45:00) Closing

Bumper Music
Still Hot
by Nic D, Connor Price
(c) Lossless, 2023

Episode Produced By
https://snapmarket.co

In this episode of the Twenty One Clear Podcast, Adam Hatcher welcomes back Melissa Mitchell-Blitch, author of In the Company of Family: How to Thrive When Business is Personal, to explore how flexibility shapes boundaries and decision-making in family businesses.

Together, they unpack the difference between thoughtful exceptions and destructive entitlement, share real-life stories of unintended consequences, and offer practical tools for addressing responsibility among family owners.

With their professional expertise, lived experience, and honest reflections, this episode delivers essential insights for families who want to strengthen both their company and their relationships. Tune in to discover how conversations about rules, consequences, and ownership can chaos-proof your family business.

Links for Melissa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamitchellblitch
Website: https://melissamitchellblitch.com/
Book: In the Company of Family: How to Thrive When Business is Personal - https://www.amazon.com/Company-Family-Thrive-Business-Personal/dp/0578761459?sr=8-1

21C Links
Twenty One Clear website: www.21clear.com
Adam Hatcher on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/adamhatcher
Subscribe to the Twenty One Clear newsletter: https://21clear.substack.com/

Bumper Music
Still Hot
by Nic D, Connor Price
(c) Lossless, 2023

Episode Produced By
https://snapmarket.co

Chapters
(00:00) Introducing Flexibility in Family Business
(02:45) Understanding When to Bend Rules
(05:31) Considering Consequences of Flexibility
(12:22) Practicing with Low-Stakes Decisions
(18:18) The Dangers of Entitlement
(20:27) Clarifying Responsibility in Family Roles