Our Latest Articles

September 18, 2023 - Issue #97

Will Your In-Laws Help or Hurt Your Family Business? Will Your In-Laws Help or Hurt Your Family Business? As the Gucci and royal families show, in-laws can complicate things. Here's how family businesses can benefit from their perspectives and minimize conflict.
Why Family Businesses Must Mind the (Generation) Gap Why Family Businesses Must Mind the (Generation) Gap Older leaders should be curious about how next-gens view the world, and younger leaders-to-be should have patience with their elders and honor what they've created.
What If a Hedge Fund Invests in my Family Business? What If a Hedge Fund Invests in my Family Business? At many publicly traded firms, the presence of activist investors forces them to innovate. This didn't hold true at the family businesses we studied.
Founders: Let Next-Gens be Entrepreneurial Founders: Let Next-Gens be Entrepreneurial Rania Labaki, a professor at the EDHEC Business School in France and director of its Family Business Center, says that founders must allow their future leaders to have an entrepreneurial spirit.
Attract and Retain the Best People As You Grow Attract and Retain the Best People As You Grow Small firms growing into midsized need a new approach to talent. Give current employees the skills they need to help you grow, and make your firm a desirable place to work.
The Paradox of Choice: Wealth's Impact on Family Potential The Paradox of Choice: Wealth's Impact on Family Potential We tend to think that opportunity serves only to increase available choices. But when we think more broadly, it’s not hard to see how increased opportunity can also limit choice.
Small and Medium-Sized Firms Are Less Prepared for Crises Small and Medium-Sized Firms Are Less Prepared for Crises Research found that they often lack the resources to assess their risk and plan for the worst -- putting their financial health at risk when disaster strikes.
Kimberly Eddleston What to Do When It's Your Turn to Lead Kimberly Eddleston

Your relatives spent years, maybe decades, building a business, and now it's your turn to take over. Fear and self-doubt are normal. Here's how to take over the reins with confidence.

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How Families Can Re-Engage Reluctant Successors Without Pressure
by John Cater, Roland Kidwell, Megan Harper, and Marilyn Young / Research Insight

Successors recommit when roles align with their values, skills, and life stage—and when family dynamics allow earlier experiences to be reinterpreted. Read more...

How Families Shape Successor Motivation—and the Firm’s Long-Term Direction
by Alexandra Dawson / Research Insight

Family firms don’t have goals—people do. The rise and fall of Italy's Florio dynasty shows how successor motivation shapes the balance between growth, legacy, and community—and how families can build more durable, values-led leadership. Read more...

Family Offices Are Expanding Their Role
by Peter Vogel / Applied and Practice

As family attitudes towards wealth, purpose, and legacy evolve, their offices are doing more than just managing wealth, a study shows. Read more...

Will Your Nonfamily Employees Defend Your Business? 
by Sarah Burrows, Craig Crossley, Catherine Faherty, and Jim Combs / Research Insight

A stewardship climate, where employees feel trusted and truly valued, mobilizes nonfamily employees to defend the family firm against reputational threats.   Read more...

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From 'Passing Down' to 'Building Up': Rethinking Values in Family Firms
by Viktoria Luft, Anne Katarina Heider, Heinrich Liechtenstein, and Tarek el Sehity
Things to Consider When Transferring Family Business Ownership
by Susan Lanz, Gary Burke, Kajsa Haag, and Omid Omidvar
Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation

Supported by the Richard M Schulze Family Foundation