Our Latest Articles

January 13, 2025 - Issue #133

Articles About Relationships, Succession Were Top Draws in 2024 Many readers wanted advice about handling toxic family relationships, managing succession, and preserving the family’s values over time.

Transferring Family Wealth to the Next Generation: What’s Fair? Trillions of dollars are about to be handed down from baby boomers to younger generations. Family firms must consider how to transfer their ownership shares, and to whom.

Family History Can be Re-Framed to Encourage Harmony and Progress The goals of the family and the business are often at odds. Family history can inspire bold and necessary steps that are still in harmony with the family’s image of itself.

Include the Extended Family in Your Ownership Strategy Your ownership strategy should consider that in future generations the family firm will likely have many more owners. Take a broader focus when you develop it.

Hiring Mom and Dad? Optimize Their Strengths and Manage Boundaries Sharon Beck, owner of a Jovie Childcare franchise, shares her insights on the benefits and challenges of being your parents' boss.

Protect Your Family Business From Crime In crime-prone regions, activities like selling in physical stores, regular trips to the bank, and talking openly about business growth can make business owners targets.

The HERO Model: How Family Enterprise Leaders Can Accelerate Change Hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism can make us better people and better leaders. This article explores how we can cultivate it within ourselves.

How Boards Help Complex Family Firms Make Sound Decisions Fiduciary boards keep family firms focused on the long term, rather than on short-term, tactical strategies. But many family firms resist having one, fearful of losing control of their enterprise.

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Families Can Overcome Generational Conflicts Over Technology

Ready to Lead: Building Confidence Across Generations

Define Your Legacy, and Strengthen Your Business and Your Impact

Listening to the Family: The Strategic Value of Surveys

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Recent

The World is Changing Faster Than Your Strategy

by Torsten Pieper, Claudia Binz Astrachan, Francesco Chirico, and Annika Ehlers / Research Insight

Families that learn to use their cohesion, trust, and long-term orientation as strengths can implement strategies more effectively than their non-family peers, especially in times of uncertainty. Read more...

Planning Succession? These 10 Decisions Are Critical

by David Deeds / Applied and Practice

Succession is not a single choice -- It is a chain of choices that interlock and compound. Avoiding any one of them will create friction or ambiguity. Read more...

Family Ownership Can Undermine Financial Health

by Ivan Miroshnychenko, Rui Torres de Oliveira, Alfredo De Massis, and Ruth Überbacher / Research Insight

However, those who invested more in R&D and operated in countries with strong and supportive institutions enjoyed better market capitalizations. Read more...

The 7 Gears of Leadership, And When to Use Each One

by Andrew Keyt and Greg McCann / Applied and Practice

Leaders acquire tremendous human capacities as they rise to the top. Their challenge is to deploy the right strength for each difficult situation. Read more...

by Susan Lanz, Gary Burke, Kajsa Haag, and Omid Omidvar

Let the Next Generation of Family Firm Leaders Chart Their Own Path

by Klaus Lüber and Nadine Kammerlander

How to Plan for a Successful Succession

by Richard Eisenberg

How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses

by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan

Here Are the Next Gen's Biggest Worries

by Kimberly Eddleston

Family CEOs May Encourage More Innovation Than Non-Family Leaders

by Mario Daniele Amore, Morten Bennedsen, Bordin Bordeerath, and Nicolai Foss