Directions: According to the passage, what is the meaning of stultifying?

So what’s actually new to add to your list of “Big Concerns” for the future? With all due respect to professional prognosticators, which we are not, we’d add three items, based on a recent set of small-session meetings with executives in the United States, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and India.

The first item – and biggest by far –  concerns family businesses, which make up a major portion of many economies. Such companies, of course, have distinct strengths. They can give employees a sense of humanity and belonging creating engagement. And in hard times, their cultures can be forgiving and resilient.

But we sense a growing fault line beneath the foundation of many family businesses. The first reason is linked to the traditional family company focus on the preservation of wealth, rather than the accumulation of it. That “protect the assets” approach may have worked in less complex times, but it could prove devastating in a global environment where risk taking and growth are essential to survival.

And then there is succession, which has never been easy within family firms. But today, increasingly longevity means that many patriarchs are staying in power for years longer, essentially forcing a whole new generation of family members into other pursuits. “Kids” these days do not wait until they are 50 to take charge and have an impact. It’s awkward and stultifying.