Our latest articles

July 14, 2025 - Issue #146

CEOs Who've Been Mentored Achieve Better Financial Results Family firms where the departing CEO has mentored the successor enjoyed stronger return on assets.

Remembering and Learning from FedEx Founder Fred Smith Smith died June 21, but the 11 management practices he encouraged at FedEx provide timeless wisdom for all kinds of businesses.

Family Leaders: Can Your Business Still Sail Without You? Without a map for navigating emergencies and guiding successors after your departure, your business and your legacy could be left adrift.

Don't Just Scale: Evolve How Entrepreneurs Can Lead Through Growth, Complexity, and Change.

Learning to Let Go of a Startup Handing off a family business to the next generation can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.

Empowering the Next Generation

5 Practical Tips for Making Business Decisions With Family Members Running a family business doesn’t mean always seeing eye to eye, but you can still overcome challenges, resolve conflicts, and evolve as a team.

AI Adoption in Family Business: Balancing Trust and Tech 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.

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A New Way to Resolve Extreme Conflict in Family Businesses

Merging With Another Family Firm is Safer and Smarter

Unready and Unadvised: The Silent Crisis in Family Wealth Transfer

A Family Council Can Help Larger Families Stay Connected

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Recent

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...

Your Family’s Mental Model Might Be Fueling Its Conflicts

by Tom Rüsen and Monika Nadler / Practice Insight

Different ways of thinking shape how families make decisions, resolve tensions, and pass leadership across generations. Read more...

Nonfamily CEOs Are Most Vulnerable in the Middle Stage of Their Tenure

by Wei Shen, Cecilia Gu, and Lin-Hua Lu / Research Insight

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. Read more...

Can a Female CEO Lead to More Diversity at the Top?

by Paola Rovelli and Marco Mismetti / Research Insight

At family firms, decisions are often shaped by traditions, preferences, or informal dynamics that are not easy to override, even for the CEO. Read more...

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

The Paradox of Choice: Wealth's Impact on Family Potential

by Doug Baumoel

Retirement Options and their Consequences for Small Business Owners

by Valeria Alterman and Ariane Froidevaux

How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses

by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan

How to Run a Family Business Successfully

by Kerry Hannon

The Biggest Mistakes Family Businesses Make With Their Boards

by Kimberly Eddleston