How To Build A Strong Family Business

The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook, is a comprehensive guide for how to build and sustain a successful enduring enterprise.

If you are in a family business, serve as a silent partner or board member, or are contemplating becoming part of a family business, this handbook is essential reading. And, even if you aren’t working in a family business, you’ll find the book enlightening because many best practices and learnings are transferrable to a non-family business.

Family businesses represent an estimated 85% of the world’s companies, and in the US, 5.5 million of these businesses employ 62% of the workforce. Therefore, understanding how these businesses work and how they contribute to the economy is critical.

Book authors Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer take readers deep behind the scenes to share:

The secrets to longevity for family-owned businesses.
How to decode the family dynamics that impact business decisions.
How to plan for succession and navigate family transitions like marriages, divorces, and generational shifts.
How to navigate conflict in a family business before it spirals out of control.
Questions to ask before making the decision to join your family business.

Josh Baron

Rob Lachenauer

The authors share these additional insights with us:

What is the one thing most likely to derail a family business?

Many people think that too much conflict is what leads to the destruction of a family business, but in reality, it’s often too little conflict that ends up there. People are so afraid of conflict that they avoid making tough decisions, discussing what they truly value, or planning for the future of the business. In our experience, too little conflict is as destructive as too much. You don’t have to like everyone in your family business, but you do have to be able to make good decisions together if you want your business to endure.

What is the most important thing needed for a successful family business?

Can we offer three? We think there are three qualities that great family businesses have in common -- no matter what size, industry, or how many generations in they are: curiosity, adaptability, and teamwork. Those three qualities characterize most of the successful family businesses we know. They’re curious about how other businesses and families do things. They are lifelong learners. They’re willing and able to adapt to new business climates, to changes in the family, to industry shifts, and so on. And they understand the importance of working as a team. Great businesses know that family business is a team sport. You win together, or you can lose together.

What are your thoughts about a family owning a franchise business?

Many families own successful franchise businesses. It can be a terrific path for a family to build not only a business, but to keep a family connected and engaged with it for generations. Of course, franchises come with rules and requirements from the franchisor -- you are not as free to build the business in your own way as you might be if you started a business from scratch. Some franchisors, for example, require that only one family member serves as the owner/operator -- meaning one family member if officially in charge of that franchise. If a family wishes to share ownership among family members, that might not be the right path. Franchises can, however, be excellent vehicles for families. The particular business that a family owns doesn’t matter as much as how they approach ownership of that business, together. Are they building their business to be successful quarter to quarter or to last for generations?

Should the HBR Family Business Handbook be required reading for all family members in a family-owned business and why?

Absolutely! There are so few good resources out there for the challenges -- and opportunities -- of owning a family business. And that’s in part because family businesses are poorly understood by the media and in academia. We spent years working on this Handbook to fill in that gap. We offer readers a unique understanding of how family businesses work, why ownership is so powerful, and how to navigate some of the common challenges of being part of a family business. We hope this book will help you understand not only family business in general better, but your own family business better. How can that not be a great thing?

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

Nelson Mandela Leadership Quotes

Here are my favorite Nelson Mandela leadership quotes: "Lead from the back--and let others believe they are in front." "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall." "It always seems impossible until it's done." "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles." "I've learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

How To Play Bigger And Be A Category King In Business

"The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn't know we had -- or a problem we didn't pay attention to because we never thought there was another way," explain the four authors of the dynamic new book, Play Bigger . They add that, "the most exciting companies sell us different. They introduce the world to a new category of product or service." And, they become category kings . Examples of category kings are Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA. Play Bigger is all about the strategy that builds category kings. And, to be a category king you need to be good at category design : Category design is the discipline of creating and developing a new market category, and conditioning the market so it will demand your solution and crown your company as its king. Category design is the opposite of "build it and they will come." Key traits of category design...

Leading With GRIT

Feelings of being stuck, overwhelmed and frustrated plague too many of our workplaces says Laurie Sudbrink , author of the new book, Leading With GRIT . So, drawing on her over 20 years of coaching a wide range of organizations, colleges and Fortune 500 companies, Sudbrink provides in her book a road map to improve individual and organizational health . That road map includes teaching readers the principles of GRIT : Generosity Respect Integrity Truth Laurie Sudbrink "It is not only the concepts of GRIT, but how they are combined, that make them so effective," shares Sudbrink. Divided into three parts, Part I of the book is geared toward the individual, and is foundational to your success as a leader. Part II focuses on communicating with GRIT -- making communication easier, more enjoyable and more productive. Part III is how, in our role as leaders, we apply and sustain GRIT in the workplace, creating systems that help keep everyone on track....

Mentoring Tips From The Book, One Minute Mentoring

Fortunately, I've benefited from having great mentors throughout my career. And, I've have the honor and good fortune to be a mentor, both formally and informally, for various individuals the past few decades. Mentoring is powerful. Both being a mentor. And, being mentored. That's why I became an instant fan of the book, One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor -- and Why You'll Benefit from Being One . Released this in May, the book presents a fictional parable about the power of finding, or being, a mentor. In what is about a one- to two-hour read, you'll gain knowledge and easy-to-use tools for how to find and leverage mentoring relationships . Ken Blanchard You'll also learn why developing effective communication and relationships across generations through mentoring can be a tremendous opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Bestselling author, Ken Blanchard, Ph.D . teamed up with Claire Diaz-Ortiz ...

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

10 Disciplines To Help You Stay Sharp And Energetic

The new book, Shine , is a transformative guide that illustrates how looking inward is the key to unlocking true entrepreneurial freedom. Certainly, Shine is a book for entrepreneurs, however, it is bound to benefit any business leader. “Entrepreneurs often have a burning need to succeed. But that same relentless brilliance that propels you in your career can take a toll on your teams, personal relationships, and even your health,” explain author Gino Wickman and coauthor Rob Dube . “Our book will help you strike a crucial balance between those inner and outer worlds while taking your success to new heights.” In Shine , Gino shares 10 disciplines to help you stay sharp and energetic without burning out. The 10 Disciplines teach you how they can lay a foundation that creates space in your busy life for you to consistently and optimally perform and achieve your inner peace. “I have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs achieve significant business succ...

How To Design A Purposeful Organization

"The challenge for the organizational architect is to systematically create the blueprint for an organization that consciously connects everything to purpose ," explains author Clive Wilson , in his book, Designing the Purposeful Organization . "The product of doing this are measurable results and, importantly, a felt sense of success." Wilson's book is packed with case studies and activities that help you put to practice in your organization the learnings from the book. Clive Wilson One of the activities that I found most interesting and revealing is Wilson's " Where Did They All Go and Why? " Think of the household names of just a decade or so ago that are no longer with us, write their names on a sheet of paper, then make brief notes on what happened to them and why. Then, ask yourself, to what extent was it to do with their purpose (e.g. a lack of purpose, an unclear purpose, an uninspiring purpose or purpose being so...

Six Leadership Actions To Leverage Employees' Differences To Strengthen Teams

The new book, All The Difference: Six Leadership Actions To Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams, and Create Value , teaches how leaders can turn their team's individual differences into deeper trust, greater creativity, and winning results. “The greatest risk of unmanaged difference isn’t conflict: it lies in the ideas, insights, and opportunities that may never surface,” explain the book’s authors, Susan MacKenty Brady , Stuart D. Kliman , and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith . They suggest that you look around your team to fully see people with different communication styles, perspectives, cultural norms, and capabilities. These differences are expressed in all kinds of ways, such as casual gestures in a meeting, a colleague's opinion on a current event, or an intense work style. Often, those differences can lead to friction, even conflict. You may try to manage around them. But, for you and your organization to fully leverage the strengths of your team’s diffe...

How To Lead In An Era When Everything Is Being Displaced

Today, leaders are caught in a cascade of contradictions. The technology that promises unprecedented capability also delivers unprecedented doubt. Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes everything faster, cheaper, and more capable. It also makes the most fundamental question of leadership unavoidable: what are humans actually for? You did not choose this moment. But you are responsible for who you and your organization become in it. In Re-Placed: Answering The Call Of Leadership In The Age Of AI , leadership strategist and CEO Kari Zeller offers something rare in the AI conversation: a leadership book that starts with the human, not the technology. “The arrival of artificial intelligence doesn't have to displace us,” explains Zeller. “But it will, unless we learn to re-place ourselves first—to consciously reposition who we are, how we lead, and where we create value in a world where intelligence is no longer ours alone.” “Being re...

How To Conduct A Successful Post-Merger Integration

Most business leaders think that mergers fail because of bad strategy or overpaying. But according to former senior partner at McKinsey and Harvard Business School’s David Fubini , that’s not where deals break down. They fail in what comes during and after integration. More specifically, “Integration is what makes or breaks the success of a deal. Not design, not financing, not due diligence, not negotiations of structure,” says Fubini. “Because no matter how expertly you manage these elements, if you can’t bring all the pieces together, all your efforts might as well have been an academic exercise." Fortunately, in his new book, Post-Merger Integration: Building The Mindset, Skills, And Discipline Needed For Deal Success , Fubini (along with Patrick Sanguineti ) offers a behind-the-scenes look at how deals actually succeed and where they go wrong. And he shows leaders how to develop an Integration Mindset that will enable you to navigate the complex, nuanced reality...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog