Family Businesses Share What Works
//March 16, 2026 - Issue #163
What it Takes to Build a Four-Generation Business From a single bulldozer in the 1950s, this top Rhode Island construction firm has thrived by adhering to its founder's core values. 
Family Firm Values Start at an Early Age Values, as Mitzi Perdue points out, help children become responsible stewards of the family business when it's their turn. 
Twins Can Be a Family Business's Superpower While forever being part of a duo can be challenging, twins can bring many strengths to their family business when they are aligned with each other.
Getting Along: Straight Talk from a Family Business Veteran Trust people. Walk around a lot so you meet more non-relatives. And don't show off your new car when the firm is tightening the belt.
Tavern Has the Recipe for Appeal and Profitability Fickle customers, tricky finances -- how a popular Rhode Island tavern meets the industry's key challenges.
Daughters are Taking Over Family Businesses As boomer business owners age, they increasingly are passing on their enterprises to their daughters.
Lessons From the Perdue and Sheraton Families on Getting Along Mitzi Perdue, author of a book about family businesses and widow of Frank and daughter of a Sheraton Hotels founder, shares lessons about family harmony. 
Advice for Family Business Successors: Be Humble and Curious The bravado and doggedness that worked for Winston Churchill and Vince Lombardi won't work at family firms, which need a more supportive leadership style.
Should Your Next CEO be From Outside the Family? What happens when the best leader for your family business isn't part of the family? One company decided to look outside, and it improved family relationships.
Successors recommit when roles align with their values, skills, and life stage—and when family dynamics allow earlier experiences to be reinterpreted. Read more...
Family firms don’t have goals—people do. The rise and fall of Italy's Florio dynasty shows how successor motivation shapes the balance between growth, legacy, and community—and how families can build more durable, values-led leadership. Read more...
A stewardship climate, where employees feel trusted and truly valued, mobilizes nonfamily employees to defend the family firm against reputational threats. Read more...
A Ukraine-based family business installed a board to provide structure as it scaled globally. Here's how the owners overcame top managers' fears and won their support. Read more...
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation