Our Latest Articles

May 12, 2025 - Issue #142

Business Families Must Get Real About Growth and Payouts Sometimes the family grows much faster than the business, especially in saturated markets. This has deep implications for how we manage family and business expectations.

Nonfamily CEOs Are Most Vulnerable in the Middle Stage of Their Tenure Family businesses tend to give all CEOs time to prove themselves, but are tougher on outsiders who don’t deliver results after a few years.

Family Firms: The Time to Learn About AI is Now Like the telephone or the internet, AI is here to stay, and we need to learn how to work with it.

Can a Female CEO Lead to More Diversity at the Top? At family firms, decisions are often shaped by traditions, preferences, or informal dynamics that are not easy to override, even for the CEO.

ESG Essentials For Family Firms ‘ESG is an existential issue. Businesses that don’t demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices could be punished by consumers, the media and even regulators.’

The Emotional Toll of Selling Your Business

Using Humble Language Can Drive Market Success Businesses in trouble can reap benefits by displaying humility – but the rules differ for family and non-family firms.

Your CEO Affects How Outsiders Perceive Your Brand Family or non-family leader? Your choice depends on the age of the firm, and can ultimately affect how the media and outside stakeholders see you.

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More Than an Entrepreneur: How Best Buy Founder Dick Schulze Saves Lives

The Emotional Downside of Exiting Your Business

All-Time Greats: Announcing Our Wetherbe Award Winners

Merging With Another Family Firm is Safer and Smarter

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Recent

Unready and Unadvised: The Silent Crisis in Family Wealth Transfer

by Srbuhi Avetisyan / Practice Insight

A study of 13,500 family firms shows that nearly half of heirs don’t know where the assets are -- and 3 in 5 wouldn’t know what to do if the founder died suddenly. Read more...

AI Adoption in Family Business: Balancing Trust and Tech

by Doug Gray, PhD / Practice Insight

Using AI can be risky in settings where confidentiality is key, but it can be indispensable in developing innovative services that clients expect. Here's how to harness it safely. Read more...

A Family Council Can Help Larger Families Stay Connected

by Kimberly Eddleston / Interviews

Consider one if your family business has 15 or more relatives involved, or multiple generations. Read more...

When Family Businesses Should Think Like Private Equity Firms

by Nadine Kammerlander and David Hoeflmayr / Applied and Practice

Adopting all or even some PE investor strategies can add value and enhance competitiveness, especially when a successor takes over or the company may be sold. Read more...

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How to Plan for a Successful Succession

by Richard Eisenberg

Consumers Love Local Brands. That's Good News For Family Businesses

by Philipp Jaufenthaler, Andreas Kallmuenzer, Sascha Kraus, and Alfredo De Massis

How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses

by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan

Outside Leadership Can Save the Family Business

by Robert Sher

Generational Experiences Shape Family Business Leaders' Priorities

by Ileana Maldonado, Paul Sanchez, and Annaleena Parhankangas

Future Family Business Owners Can Learn to Manage Conflict