Practice Insight

Practice insights are articles submitted by practitioners, such as entrepreneurs, consultants, managers, and venture investors. These articles undergo editorial review but are not peer reviewed. 


Family Business Budget Planning: 7 Things to Consider

Part 2 of a two-part series As we showed in part 1 of this discussion , trying to use budgets as both a planning tool and an expectations setting tool can be destructive, because the self-interests Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Joseph Astrachan

Self-Interest Can Skew Budgets at Family Businesses

Part 1 of a two-part series Are you familiar with any of the following scenarios? “My business unit leaders never set realistic budgets, I have to push them and prod them to get growth—did I hire Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Joseph Astrachan

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

The book The Paradox of Choice , written by Barry Schwartz and first published in 2004, posits that people, in general, suffer a loss of happiness because we have too much choice in everything we Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Doug Baumoel

Digital Transformation: Can Your Business Keep Up?

Digital transformation is adapting an established business so it can continue to grow in the digital era. What does that really take? It turns out -- much to the surprise of many -- the most Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: David Rogers

Assessments Can Help Develop Family Business Leaders

Assessments, tests, and evaluations are being used more routinely in businesses, and new tools are coming on the market designed specifically for family firms. In our consulting work with families Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Doug Gray, PhD

Seven Things to Consider Before Selling the Family Firm

  The University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis)  Family Business Center  in February 2023 put together a panel discussion for family firms, focusing on lessons learned from families who Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Jon Keimig

Growing a Venture With Private Equity: A Buy-and-Build Approach

EDITOR’S NOTE: In this interview with EIX, a seasoned entrepreneur and executive sheds light on a particular pathway to growing a venture – one in which acquisitions and private equity play a Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Ted Clark

Should Employee Ownership Be Your Next Strategic Move?

EEA Consulting Engineers is an employee-owned firm in Austin, Texas. Like all engineering companies— and many other businesses—its success depends entirely on its people. So you’d expect the Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Corey Rosen

The New Family Business Powerhouses: Wives and Moms

Today women hold leadership positions in government, head up Fortune 500 companies, and oversee countless philanthropic programs. Yet in many successful family businesses, the roles of women remain Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Amy Hart Clyne

Overcoming Dysfunction in the Next Generation

Anyone involved in a family business is no stranger to the dynamics of the family that come into play in the business. But the children of family business owners (especially founders) have specific Read More...

Category: Practice Insight

Author: Chris Yonker