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
6 Questions to Ask Before Creating a Family Business Board
by Pedro Vazquez, Isabel C Botero, and Miguel Méndez
/ Research Insight
As your family business grows, informal decision-making may no longer be enough. These six questions can help you decide when and how to strengthen governance. Read more...
Before You Create a Family Office, Prepare the Next Generation
by Dennis Oteng
/ Commentary
A full family office may not be the first step. Strong governance can prepare younger family members to steward wealth long before a crisis forces the issue. Read more...
Why Family Businesses Shouldn't Always Listen to Wall Street
by Douglas Hassell and Kimberly Eddleston
/ Applied and Practice
What Nordstrom, Mars, Dillard's and Patagonia can teach family businesses about ownership structure Read more...
Selling the Family Business? Prepare the Family for What Comes Next
by Susana Quintás
/ Applied and Practice
A business sale changes more than ownership. Families must also rethink governance, roles, wealth, identity, and purpose after the company is gone. Read more...
Trending
How Family Dynamics Shape Family Businesses
by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan
Let the Next Generation of Family Firm Leaders Chart Their Own Path
by Klaus Lüber and Nadine Kammerlander
5 Practical Tips for Making Business Decisions With Family Members
by Rostyslav Vovk
Things to Consider When Transferring Family Business Ownership
by Susan Lanz, Gary Burke, Kajsa Haag, and Omid Omidvar
Editorial offices located at St Thomas University
Popular
'Family-Owned' or 'Family-Run'? The Words You Use Can Affect Customer Trust
by Sabrina Finkbeiner, Jan-Philipp Ahrens, Christoph Burmann, and Michael Schade
Founder Succession: Six Lessons From 15 CEOs Who Actually Lived It
by Micheal Parkhurst
Will Your Family Brand Survive New Leadership?
by Meghan Lynch
Avoid Legal Minefields When Acquiring Another Company
by Dustin Slade
Consumers Love Local Brands. That's Good News For Family Businesses
by Philipp Jaufenthaler, Andreas Kallmuenzer, Sascha Kraus, and Alfredo De Massis
Should I Participate in a Business Accelerator?
by Jon Eckhardt
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation