Mothers - the Family CEO

Original date of writing - Sunday May 10th, 2009

Today is Mother's Day and the Alberta Tour is in Salzburg Austria for the day. The irony is not lost on me that here I am in Europe, studying the family construct of businesses that make up the majority of the world's great economies while my own wife Kathy is at home with our two young girls. But that is the essence of what moms do - they sacrifice, they nurture, they enable - in short they are the CEO - Chief Emotional Officer - of the family.

I can't take credit for the idea of mother's being CEOs; this was actually something that was taught at the European Business School in one of our lectures. We learned it is the wife that often outlasts the husband, and she will act as the peacekeeper, the human resource director, the principal influencer and the controller of family assets. When the children take over family enterprises or when other relatives are involved the matriarch is often the linchpin that holds not just the business but the emotional architecture together.

But back to Salzburg. The city has a rich and involved history, dating back to Roman times when it was the centre of the Salt trade; in fact this is where the city gets its name. As close as it is to Germany (a three hour bullet train ride on the system the Germans call ICE) Salzburg has a feel that seems different from the other German cities we have visited.

Today we saw hundreds of families in lederhosen and traditional skirts celebrating their Mother's Day in the manicured parks and gardens, among some of the most important historical and beautiful architecture I've ever seen. In the afternoon we took a guided tour of the city, wandering the narrow cobblestone streets decorated with iconic signs announcing various trades and crafts. Salzburg is the city of birthplace of musical geniuses Mozart and Hayden, and of towering cathedrals that are decorated with gothic and rococo influences. The oldest restaurant in Europe is here too, named St. Peters which dates back to 803 AD. Supposedly the food is still good even after all these years.

Our day is filled with other activities too include a bus and walking tour that highlights various locations used in my wife's favourite movie "The Sound of Music". I took pictures of the gazebo where Maria and Captain Von Trapp first kissed, or when Baroness Schroeder sees the kids coming out of the lake in curtains for clothes.

Perhaps the most prominent scene in Salzburg is Europe's most impenetrable castle the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The fact that this was built in 1077 AD is astounding. We took a tram up to the base of the castle and then walked several floors up to get to the courtyard area. From the mountain you can see everything, including the Alps where the Von Trapps escaped to Switzerland.

As I rode the train home I wish my own family CEO was here to have seen Salzburg. Certainly she is the glue that holds us all together, regardless of what kind of business I get into. On behalf of everyone here who is missing their own moms in their lives, we all wish you "Alles Gutte dis Motters Dag...Happy Mother's Day".