Advice for Untangling Conflict in a Family Business

Janme Sinha became intrigued by family business conflict and dynamics when a distraught friend confided that his recently deceased father had left all of the shares of the family business to his brother. In India, where Sinha is Boston Consulting Group's Chairman for India and a member of its Henderson Institute Innovation Sounding Board, 300 of the top 500 businesses are family owned.  The consequences of conflict can be dire.

Sinha's work with family firms led to his co-authoring a book, entitled "Untangling Conflict: An Introspective Guide for Families in Business," with his BCG colleagues. In this interview with Familybusiness.org, he talks about the soft emotional issues and hard business issues that can tear families apart, the five types of conflict that roil families the most, and the types of family members most likely to fight with one another. He also shares advice for family members and for non-relatives who are part of the business, including this key takeaway from Gandhi: "The future depends on what you do today."