Special Issue: Your Relationships

February 13, 2023 - Issue #83

Too Much Love in the Family Can Hurt Strong family relationships are good for business, but being too insular will blind the family to great ideas from the outside and actually hurt return on equity.

Getting Along: Straight Talk from a Family Business Veteran Trust people. Walk around a lot so you meet more non-relatives. And don't show off your new car when the firm is tightening the belt.

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.

Divorce Can Hollow out a Family Business — But it Doesn’t Have to It’s surprising how many business-owning families fail to properly plan for this worst case scenario. Here's advice from two experts about protecting the business.

Family CEO Burnout: How to Prevent, Recognize and Deal With It How can leaders keep themselves from getting worn down or recognize burnout in themselves? And what should family members do if they see their leader struggling?

'Let’s Not Go There...' Taboos in Family Business Many families dare not discuss certain topics because they want to preserve the illusion of harmony and unity. But these taboo topics are bound to erupt sooner or later.

LVMH Billionaire is Keeping it in the Family

Bernard Arnault, the world's richest man, talks about his plans for his heirs in this Wall Street Journal video.

February 2023

What Families in Conflict Can Learn from Baseball and Teachers Using a hybrid of mediation and arbitration offers a real chance to preserve family relationships during a difficult period of conflict.

How Family Firms Can Prevent (or Cool Down) Sibling Rivalries Koch Industries, McCain Foods and Robert Mondavi were all roiled by sibling battles. These three strategies will help you prevent it.

Future Family Business Owners Can Learn to Manage Conflict This classroom exercise dissects the five approaches to managing disputes, and their likely outcomes.

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

How Family Business Leaders Can Encourage Both Devotion and Performance

Women Can Help Family Firms Innovate – but Socioemotional Factors Matter

Are Your Family and Business Thriving Together - Or Undermining Each Other?

CEOs Who've Been Mentored Achieve Better Financial Results

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

Family Leaders: Can Your Business Still Sail Without You?

by Bradford C. Jeter, CEPA / Practice Insight

Without a map for navigating emergencies and guiding successors after your departure, your business and your legacy could be left adrift. Read more...

5 Practical Tips for Making Business Decisions With Family Members

by Rostyslav Vovk / Commentary

Running a family business doesn’t mean always seeing eye to eye, but you can still overcome challenges, resolve conflicts, and evolve as a team. Read more...

A New Way to Resolve Extreme Conflict in Family Businesses

by Doug Baumoel and Blair Trippe / Applied and Practice

Family members may feel “trapped” in conflicts, unable to resolve substantive issues without damaging their familial relationships. This often leads to disputes that persist for decades. Read more...

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...

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

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

by Doug Baumoel

How to Run a Family Business Successfully

by Kerry Hannon

Why Don't You Educate Your Owners?

by Tom Rüsen, Claudia Binz Astrachan, and Ruth Orenstrat

How to Plan for a Successful Succession

by Richard Eisenberg