Our Latest Articles

January 20, 2021 - Issue #22

A Road Map for Resurgence in 2021 A Road Map for Resurgence in 2021 With a vaccine on the way, we feel the best advice for 2021 is to focus on what comes next.  These articles from the past year can inform your game plan for the post-Covid world that will dawn in a few months.
Family Businesses Must Plan for the Unthinkable Family Businesses Must Plan for the Unthinkable A year ago nobody saw a pandemic coming. What we've learned: a dash of "productive paranoia" will help family business leadership anticipate future threats.
Five Things Family Businesses are Reckoning With Now Five Things Family Businesses are Reckoning With Now This video, also available as a podcast, explores how family businesses are balancing cherished traditions and social capital against the mandate to control costs at a time of economic peril.
Timeless Lessons from Dick Schulze Timeless Lessons from Dick Schulze While "Becoming the Best" was published a decade ago, the takeaways from Dick Schulze's book remain great operating principles for anyone who runs a business.
Looking ahead
Don't Get Too Comfortable Don't Get Too Comfortable

In this video, Harvard's Michael Tushman explains why great firms don't rest on past successes. Being innovative means getting out of your comfort zone.

How Investors Think Differently Now How Investors Think Differently Now

Our Lean Education Summit last month opened with a panel of Investors sharing their insights of what the funding environment for entrepreneurs, non-profits and small businesses will look like as the economy recovers.

Important Book about Managing Family and Business Important Book about Managing Family and Business

Don't miss this article by family business thought leader Dennis Jaffe about a new book that explores how family business owners can manage their two important roles.

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Recent
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
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...

Listening to the Family: The Strategic Value of Surveys
by Claudia Binz Astrachan / Practice Insight

Surveys can reveal differing perspectives, surface hidden tensions, and – when done well – build trust, and serve as an educational opportunity.  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...

Trending
Things to Consider When Transferring Family Business Ownership
by Susan Lanz, Gary Burke, Kajsa Haag, and Omid Omidvar
How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses
by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University

Editorial offices located at St Thomas University

Popular
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