The Lost Generation

This post was submitted by "Watcher".

I have noticed a trend around the world that I thought I would address. It is the second or sometimes third generations of families involved in pearls. The pioneering spirit that built some of the largest organizations in pearling seems to diminish in the DNA of their offspring. Not in all cases. But enough to make the point.

There are several examples of this through out the industry. From Australia to the US and to Japan. From Tahiti and in many of the markets around the world you can see this trend. The men and woman who built many of these companies were hard working people who had no idea if they would succeed. But they had drive and vision. In many cases that’s all they had. They had to deal with the stress of complete failure. And still stuck to their dreams. A pioneer spirit that created the business that we all enjoy.

I can show example after example of companies that start sliding backwards as soon as the children are handed the reigns. I don’t know if its because they haven’t wanted for anything in their lives. Or if that sort of drive isn’t in the DNA. But in the psychology of the originals. But its a sad thing to watch a dream diminish because of laziness or greed. I suppose you can’t learn this sort of internal fortitude. You either have it or you don’t.

I recently watched as a very old company involved in selling wholesale jewelry for generations complain about losing market share and price advantage to a new and fast moving online pearl presence. I couldn’t help but laugh at them as I assume their grandfather was doing from the grave. They got caught watching their business walking away. Did they decide to compete? No. The decided to whine like the lost generation they are. There are new people today with the same drive that inspired their parents. And they don’t know what to do about it.

Or you have other examples where the next generation only wants to do the fun jobs . They don’t want to get their hands dirty doing the hard work. They simply want to sip cocktails and hobnob with other perceived successful people. To them that is success. When in fact they couldn’t possibly build a business on their own from scratch. They would be completely lost if forced to provide for themselves. They are born in to a paint by numbers life. Everything laid out for them. And then they assume that that makes them artists.

Perhaps this trend isn’t exclusive to the pearl business. But this is the business we are in. And so it's where I focus my comments.