The Heart of Family Business

December 15, 2025 - Issue #156

Family History Can Be Repurposed to Serve Today's Challenges The stories that families tell about their past matter. Here are some ways that families can begin to use the past to serve their present-day goals.

Define Your Legacy, and Strengthen Your Business and Your Impact Unless you clearly define what you want your legacy to be, your successors will interpret it in their own way -- and it might not be what you intended.

Everyday Gratitude in Times of Uncertainty Gratitude leads to better relationships and encourages loyalty among our colleagues. This popular 2020 article has been updated for today's challenges.

Keep the Founder's Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive in Future Generations While entrepreneurship often creates the family's wealth, making it part of the family culture and legacy is another matter entirely. Here's how.

Family Business Experts: How to Survive the Holidays We're republishing this popular article from year-end 2019, which includes timeless advice about getting along from our family business editors.

Ready to Lead: Building Confidence Across Generations When families treat readiness as something they cultivate together, the handoff feels less like a loss and more like a natural next step.

Help Your Family Business by Helping Others Philanthropy can be a catalyst for leadership development, and generate support and good will towards the business in the community.

How Famous Family Firms Use Their History to Connect With Stakeholders Tangible items like postcards, photos or old accounting books evoke stories that become part of a family's legacy, which can create good will with the outside world.

Do Family Meals Fuel Entrepreneurship in Family Businesses? Families with diverse education and industry experience fuel the fire of entrepreneurship when they dine together frequently.

Family Emotions Can Drive Business Decisions Because personal and business dynamics are so closely intertwined, private disagreements and personal histories inevitably spill over into the business.

How Three Women Upheld Family Values and Thrived Despite Adversity A family's enduring values, fully believed and truly lived, can be a compass in hard times and a competitive advantage.

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

Strong Family Businesses Think Short Term and Long Term at the Same Time

Helping Daughters Become Successful Family Business Leaders

The Hidden Fault Lines That Threaten Family Enterprises

The Hidden Branding Risk for Family Businesses: The Family Becomes the Brand

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

How Leaders Can Transfer Their Great Instincts to Successors

by Kimberly Eddleston / Interviews

A leader's tacit knowledge can make the company more successful, but it's a challenge to understand what's behind it or how to pass it down to next-gens. Read more...

Inside the Family Business Boardroom: How Better Meetings Lead to Better Decisions

by Isabel C Botero, Miguel Méndez, and Pedro Vazquez / Research Insight

Board effectiveness isn’t just about who sits at the table—it’s about what happens during the meeting. Research reveals the hidden dynamics shaping family business decisions. Read more...

Family Businesses Must Prepare for the Unthinkable

by Kimberly Eddleston / Commentary

An unexpected death or disability can wreak havoc on a family business's best-laid plans. Read more...

How Families Can Override Emotions to Make Better Judgments

by Paul Edelman / Practice Insight

When decisions become emotionally charged, it becomes harder to think clearly just when clear thinking is needed most. Read more...

by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan

Things to Consider When Transferring Family Business Ownership

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

How to Run a Family Business Successfully

by Kerry Hannon

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