Regular Issue
//May 26, 2023 - Issue #90
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. 
Why Don't You Educate Your Owners? Everyone agrees that families should train members to become competent owners and stewards of the family business – but few of them actually walk the talk.
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.
From Solo to Team: Helping Siblings Maintain Your Valuable Outside Relationships A leader’s external relationships, built over time, become important ‘social capital’ for the family firm. What happens when a team of siblings takes over?
One Family, Multiple Businesses: Preserving Harmony and Profits Families with several businesses under their umbrella face competition for resources and family attention. The right governance can help everyone thrive.
Succession Planning Should Start Earlier Than You Think It's never too early to plan for succession and get family members ready for leadership. The authors share ideas from research and practice in this video and podcast.
FamilyBusiness.org Forges Alliance With Family Business Review Alliance will offer family-led enterprises around the world research-tested advice on how to build, manage and sustain vibrant businesses. 
FamilyBusiness.org's Editorial Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI Tools You are welcome to use these tools to help draft, revise, and/or expand on submitted articles -- but make sure you understand our rules. 
AI Helps Overcome Succession Challenges Japan, with its aging population, has a succession problem. This 32-year-old discovered a way to use AI to broker deals between companies with aging leaders. -- Kimberly Eddleston
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...
Family business mergers enjoy greater harmony and better financial performance than mergers involving non-family firms. Read more...
A study of 13,500 family firms shows that nearly half of heirs don’t know where the assets are -- and 3 in 5 wouldn’t know what to do if the founder died suddenly. Read more...
Using AI can be risky in settings where confidentiality is key, but it can be indispensable in developing innovative services that clients expect. Here's how to harness it safely. Read more...
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation