Our Latest Articles

November 30, 2020 - Issue #17

Women Can Help Their Family Businesses Navigate Crisis Women Can Help Their Family Businesses Navigate Crisis Women can be indispensable in times of trouble, but the glass ceiling and the glass cliff still hold them back even at family firms. Seven things to think about.
Sherri Noxel

Editor's Pick

Sherri Noxel

One Tough Mother

One Tough Mother is not an academic text but an inspirational autobiography from the late Gert Boyle. It is the story of her inheriting her father’s sporting goods business and the unexpected death of her husband when she was 46. Gert rebuilt the company that is now one of the finest examples of G3 family enterprise ownership of a publicly traded global company.

"One Tough Mother: Taking Charge in Life, Business and Apple Pies” by Gert Boyle, G2 CEO of Columbia Sportswear.

Daughters prepare to lead family firms Daughters prepare to lead family firms Daughters are increasingly assuming leadership roles at family firms. In this video, two future business leaders talk about family expectations, their worries, their hopes for the future and the importance of knowing their value.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling in a Family Business Breaking the Glass Ceiling in a Family Business Despite decades of striving and some progress, women still face challenges. Outdated ideas about primogeniture and a woman's rightful place have not yet gone away, and women still feel too much pressure to prove themselves.
Family Business Home Page Vol. 2
Lessons from Lauder Lessons from Lauder

Leonard Lauder, whose empire includes Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown and Clinique cosmetics, never makes an important decision without a woman at the table.

Building a Balanced Relationship Building a Balanced Relationship

As this article points out, moving from daughter to CEO is never easy. In this article, Jelmar CEO Alison Gutterman shares her insights about leading her third-generation family firm.

Lessons from 100-year Businesses Lessons from 100-year Businesses

This podcast features Dennis Jaffe, celebrated family business office consultant and author of the book, Borrowed from Your Grandchildren, talking about what resilient families have in common.

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Define Your Legacy, and Strengthen Your Business and Your Impact
by Matthew Fox, Kimberly Wade-Benzoni, and Jeffrey Covin / Research Insight

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.  Read more...

The World is Changing Faster Than Your Strategy
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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...

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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...

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Things to Consider When Transferring Family Business Ownership
by Susan Lanz, Gary Burke, Kajsa Haag, and Omid Omidvar
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University

Editorial offices located at St Thomas University

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Consumers Love Local Brands. That's Good News For Family Businesses
by Philipp Jaufenthaler, Andreas Kallmuenzer, Sascha Kraus, and Alfredo De Massis
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation

Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation