Our Latest Articles
//November 30, 2020 - Issue #17
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. 
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 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 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 Outdated ideas about primogeniture and a woman's rightful place have not yet gone away, and women still feel too much pressure to prove themselves. 
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 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 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.
Research still can’t clearly explain when they deliver real value. A review shows what we know, what we don’t, and how families can close the needs-to-services gap. Read more...
Vision matters—but so does individualized consideration. This study shows nonfamily managers perform better when CEOs pair transformational leadership with genuine, personalized attention and political skill. Read more...
Successors recommit when roles align with their values, skills, and life stage—and when family dynamics allow earlier experiences to be reinterpreted. Read more...
Family firms don’t have goals—people do. The rise and fall of Italy's Florio dynasty shows how successor motivation shapes the balance between growth, legacy, and community—and how families can build more durable, values-led leadership. Read more...
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation