Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
//August 21, 2023 - Issue #96
Family Business Professors: 34 Ways to Energize Your Class These free classroom exercises, interviews and other resources will add new energy, fun and inspiration to your students' course work.
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.
Videos for the Global Family Business Community These videos share best practices that help business owners, professors and students become more resilient. 
Learning How Family Business Leaders Make Decisions Through Interviews This exercise allows students to apply core family business concepts to a real-world business context, reinforcing their grasp of the course materials.
Want to Give Your Entrepreneurship Students Real-World Experience? Try Consulting Projects Students gain exposure to the inner-workings of a business, while entrepreneurs receive a fresh perspective, academic insight and assistance. 
Future Family Business Owners Can Learn to Manage Conflict This classroom exercise dissects the five approaches to managing disputes, and their likely outcomes.
What All Family Businesses Can Learn From the Merck Family The Germany-based global health care, pharmaceutical and performance materials firm has kept its vast family ownership team aligned for 13 generations.
Team Exercise: How Parenting Styles Affect The Next Generation This experiential exercise is designed to enhance student learning about the four parenting styles and how they affect the dynamics within the family firm. 
Developing Competent Owners and Stewards for a Lasting Family Business Educating family members to become such competent, responsible stewards of the family enterprise is a responsibility, and not a choice.
Assessments Can Help Develop Family Business Leaders From simple surveys or interviews to complex, statistically robust reporting, assessments give current and future leaders a source of objective data for better decision-making.
Learn to Defend Your Family Firm This classroom exercise helps future family firm members learn to anticipate outside threats to their business and defend it.Search & Save Enter search below to create an easy reading list
Recent
The Next Generation Can Help the Family Firm Innovate
by Richard Schulze and Ritch Sorenson
/ Commentary
Best Buy Founder Richard Shulze and Ritch Sorenson of the University of St. Thomas explore the opportunities that come with a changing of the guard. Read more...
Single Family Offices as Owners: Long-Term Investors or Financial Optimizers?
by Joern Block, Reza Fathollahi, and Onur Eroglu
/ Research Insight
The capital structure of a firm determines its financial viability and creditworthiness. Families should understand how ownership influences this structure. Read more...
Family Business Stories Build a Legacy For the Next Generation
by Kimberly Eddleston
/ Interviews
Books, websites, videos and blogs can capture a family business's saga, with all its challenges and triumphs, and shape a powerful legacy. Read more...
Family Business Budget Planning: 7 Things to Consider
by Joseph Astrachan
/ Practice Insight
Family firms -- indeed, any entrepreneur-led business -- should put aside the self-interest of different departments, and focus first on these critical factors. Read more...
Trending
How Family Firms Can Prevent (or Cool Down) Sibling Rivalries
by Jonas Ruzek and Kimberly Eddleston
How to Plan for a Successful Succession
by Richard Eisenberg
How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses
by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan
How to Run a Family Business Successfully
by Kerry Hannon
Family Business Succession: Your Questions Answered
by Kimberly Eddleston and Mat Hughes
Managing Emotional Minefields Within Family Businesses
by Dr. Ayoosha Saleem, Francesco Barbera, Simon de Jong, and Arvid Hoffmann
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University
Popular
Dick Schulze Reflects on Our Growing Impact
by Catherine Buday
A Family's Non-Financial Values Shape Its Sustainability Strategy
by Josh Hsueh, Alfredo De Massis, and Luis Gomez-Mejia
Family Firms May Need More Legal Advice Than They Think
by Kajsa Haag, Hanna Almlöf, Marina Madsen, and Mette Neville
The Biggest Mistakes Family Businesses Make With Their Boards
by Kimberly Eddleston
Field of Dreams: Exploration of Entrepreneurial Possibilities
by Michael Lounsbury and Tim Hannigan
Class Explores Legal Aspects of Business Entities
by Tanya Marcum
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation