For family-owned print businesses, succession is never just about a title. It is about trust. It is about respect earned over time. And often, it is about learning how to be both family and business partners at once.
That dynamic comes to life in this Dscoop Roundtable conversation featuring Jack Glacken, founder of Today’s Graphics Inc. (TGI) in Philadelphia and Dscoop’s first chairman; Jack Glacken Jr., the company's director of e-commerce and logistics; and moderator Kelvin Gage, who brings delightful energy and curiosity to the conversation.
What unfolds is an honest and open talk about legacy, humility and the quiet pride that comes with building something important together.
Jack Sr. knows both sides of succession. He followed his own father into the business and later welcomed his sons into TGI, a company his father started in 1977. For him, having family in the business has never been about obligation. It is about care. When someone carries the same level of responsibility and pride in the company, it changes everything: More people are invested. More people protect the culture. More people wake up every day wanting the business to succeed.
Jack Jr. joined TGI in 2009, starting in bindery before moving through customer service, operations and supply chain leadership. There was no shortcut to influence. He knew early that sharing the family name did not mean automatic credibility. Respect had to be earned with humility, hard work and consistency. He wanted the team around him to trust him for how he showed up, not because his last name was on the building.
That mindset shaped the relationship between father and son. Both describe remarkably little conflict at work because their roles are clear and their respect runs deep. Jack Sr. still lights up talking about watching his son lead customer relationships and operational strategy. Jack Jr. talks about realizing early, especially through Dscoop, that his father truly knew what he was doing. The admiration goes both directions, and so does the accountability.
There is emotion underneath all of it. Kelvin, who also took over his father’s business, spoke openly about losing his dad and how meaningful it is to capture conversations like this while you still can. That honesty shifted the conversation from succession planning to gratitude. Family businesses carry spreadsheets and strategy, but they also carry memory. They create rare opportunities to work beside the people who shaped you.
That spirit is why Dscoop created the NextGen Club https://community.dscoop.com/home/clubs/dscoop-nextgen/overview. It creates space for future leaders to connect with others navigating the same questions — how to earn trust, how to modernize without losing identity and how to lead well inside a legacy someone else began.
For Jack Sr., the lesson passed down from his own father was simple: Take care of the customer and "do the right thing." For Jack Jr., the lesson is just as clear: Earn your stripes.
Somewhere between those two ideas is where great next-generation leadership begins.
