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.

Search & Save Enter search below to create an easy reading list

CEOs Who've Been Mentored Achieve Better Financial Results

Family Leaders: Can Your Business Still Sail Without You?

5 Practical Tips for Making Business Decisions With Family Members

A New Way to Resolve Extreme Conflict in Family Businesses

Popular Topics

Money

Financing, revenue, profits

Team

Staffing, succession, relationships

Manage

Best practices for running the business

Grow

Increase customers and revenue

Strategy

Making better decisions

Operations

How the best firms run

Recent

Merging With Another Family Firm is Safer and Smarter

by Francesco Chirico, Robert E Hoskisson, Seemantini Pathak, and Massimo Baù / Research Insight

Family business mergers enjoy greater harmony and better financial performance than mergers involving non-family firms. Read more...

Unready and Unadvised: The Silent Crisis in Family Wealth Transfer

by Srbuhi Avetisyan / Practice Insight

A study of 13,500 family firms shows that nearly half of heirs don’t know where the assets are -- and 3 in 5 wouldn’t know what to do if the founder died suddenly. Read more...

AI Adoption in Family Business: Balancing Trust and Tech

by Doug Gray, PhD / Practice Insight

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. Read more...

A Family Council Can Help Larger Families Stay Connected

by Kimberly Eddleston / Interviews

Consider one if your family business has 15 or more relatives involved, or multiple generations. Read more...

by Ritch Sorenson

Consumers Love Local Brands. That's Good News For Family Businesses

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

How to Run a Family Business Successfully

by Kerry Hannon

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

by Doug Baumoel

When Family Businesses Should Think Like Private Equity Firms

by Nadine Kammerlander and David Hoeflmayr