Continuity Family Business Consulting
How Family-Owned Businesses Benefit from a Board of Directors
When a family-owned manufacturing business built an independent board and its impact on the company A family-owned manufacturing firm had just finished a six-month family business consulting engagement and now had a basic management and ownership succession plan in place. In addition, a family bank was set up to manage a vacation property, help avoid family conflict over money, and be used as a capital resource for entrepreneurial family members not in the family business. Satisfied with the work done to date, the founder asked, ‘What’s next?’ Editor’s note: Surnames are not disclosed and first names have been changed [...]
What Problems Does a Family Business Consultant Actually Solve?
What families call for help with when relationships and ownership are at risk Families rarely search for a family business consultant out of curiosity. They search when something feels off, when they feel stuck, or when decisions are harder than they should be. Conversations circle without resolution. Tension shows up in meetings, operations, or relationships. Often, family members sense that the problem is not just business and not just family, but something in between. Family business consultants specialize in that "in between" space. We work with enterprising families when family dynamics, ownership, leadership, and economics collide in ways that [...]
Wealth Integration: A Multigenerational, Multifaceted Approach for Enterprising Families
Prepare for challenges, manage risk, and empower future generations What is wealth integration? Wealth integration is about forming a powerful foundation for the future with multigenerational thinking and a multifaceted approach to wealth. It’s about how wealth can be integrated into the lives of individuals and families, productively. (And how individuals [i.e. inheritors] can avoid the Paradox of Choice and wealth’s unintended consequences.) Wealth affords access to opportunities and wealth integration helps families leverage their potential, and empower future generations. The concept of wealth integration places the individual and family as the center of concern, with money as simply [...]
The Paradox of Choice: How Wealth and Opportunity Can Empower or Stifle Potential in Families
Wealth Integration: Making Wealth and Opportunity Work for Enterprising Families The book The Paradox of Choice, written by Barry Schwartz and first published in 2004, posits that people, in general, suffer a loss of happiness because we have too much choice in everything we buy, do, and experience. We’re obsessed with choice—that’s why we have scores of different pasta sauces on supermarket shelves. One would think that having choices would enable us to maximize our happiness by finding the one option that optimally fulfills our needs and desires. Unfortunately, when faced with excessive choice, we find that we’re more [...]
Helping Inheritors Navigate, Understand the Complexities of Wealth
Six ways the rising generation can productively integrate wealth into their lives Having worked with affluent families for over 20 years, when I ask them what keeps them up most nights, roughly 90% of them respond with fear surrounding raising their children in a wealthy environment. Many of these parents didn’t grow up with wealth, while those who did regret that not enough attention was paid to the experience of inheritance and its challenges, rather than the obvious benefits and responsibilities. Wealth inheritors face many challenges that are often difficult to discuss. As a minority, they must deal with [...]
8 Ways to Manage Sibling Wealth Disparity this Holiday Season
The holidays can be the best time to address ill feelings triggered by gift-giving The holiday season is upon us and, for many families, this time of year can bring a multitude of issues to the surface. One such issue, sibling wealth disparity, (re)emerges when it comes to gift-giving. Money and items gifted by siblings may not be of equal value due to their wealth disparity, and this can wreak havoc and cause conflict among families. In order to maintain harmonious sibling relationships, it’s critical to understand how to manage sibling wealth disparity. To start, it’s important to ensure the [...]
Turkey Talk: Discussing Family Business Issues at Holiday Get-Togethers
How to handle family business conflicts, decisions, and discussions around the holiday dinner table We’ve all seen the pictures—a happy family gathered around the dining table as dad carves the perfectly cooked turkey while the children play and share their toys in an impeccable home. These television and movie scenes depict families enjoying the holidays filled with laughter and joy. But for many of us, especially for some working in a family business, these images are as elusive as that winning lottery ticket. Not only are our families not paragons of perfection, but some of us have begun to dread [...]
The Real Purpose of Family Enterprise Governance: Developing the “Four Capitals”
Nurturing the four types of capital to maximize the potential of your enterprising family. In this commentary, we explore the four types of capital—financial, human, spiritual, and social, and the family enterprise governance system’s crucial role in promoting each of these for the benefit of the family. Family enterprise governance systems may look different for different families. For some families, governance is a highly structured system of a family council, family office board, and a family business board; all connected by a well-crafted constitution with process, rules, and expectations. For other families, family enterprise governance may simply be a [...]
What’s Considered ‘Fair’ in Family Business?
4 things to consider when seeking outcomes that are acceptable to all stakeholders The question of what is fair has perplexed many family business owners, and their search for fairness often results in conflict. Why? Because when it comes to the search for fairness—there is no single answer. The term ‘fairness’ can have different meanings. In business, fairness is based on merit—the more you produce, the more you should earn; when it comes to ownership, fairness is proportional—the more you own, the more benefit of control and distributions of profit you should have; and for families, fairness is often (but [...]
Managing Disputes and Avoiding Conflict in a Family Enterprise
Using COVID-19 vaccination disagreements to highlight dispute resolution approaches As COVID-19 vaccinations continue to roll out across the country, most companies are beginning to develop protocols for returning to work in person. While for many this is great news, this can be particularly challenging for family businesses with family members and non-family employees who have conflicting perspectives on the concept of vaccines. This blog will highlight methods family businesses can use to manage disputes regarding the vaccine and what to do if there’s an underlying conflict involved. Is this a dispute or a conflict? Vaccine hesitancy versus advocacy can be [...]
